It was recently announced that one of the most revered songwriters from north of the border, Matt Mays, will be touring the United States this summer with The Gaslight Anthem with additional dates to be added soon. The tour will be in support of Mays’ critically acclaimed 2017 full-length, Once Upon A Hell Of A Time, which was met with serious praise from fans and critics alike in his home base of Canada. As the record has slowly creeped into the ears of listeners stateside over the past few months, the buzz around Matt Mays has begin to swell and with this largely sold out run with The Gaslight Anthem nearly upon us, it’s only a matter of time until this talented songwriter is a staple of parties and playlists in the United States.
Once Upon A Hell Of A Time… straddles the melodramatic and the melancholy. It tells the story of a man in search of love, coping with loss and looking for something more. The record follows Matt’s JUNO Award-winning 2012 full-length, Coyote, and it’s making spans five years and a handful of locales – from the L.A. studio onced owned by Elliott Smith to sessions at The Farm Studios in Vancouver and The Sonic Temple in Halifax to The Boiler Room in New York City and Breakglass Studios in Montreal. The bulk of the album was recorded with co-producer Loel Campbell (Wintersleep) during an intense two-month period in Montreal during the summer of 2016.
Matt Mays adds:
‘This is a snapshot of four or five years of my life that were pretty wild, and pretty lost, and pretty free – in certain ways – and I kind of felt like I was coming to the end of a bit of a chapter. It was a fucking wild ride of emotions and late nights and all the feels. Kind of the record I’ve always wanted to make.’
After departing seminal alt-country collective The Guthries in 2002, Matt Mays went on to alternate between solo projects (his self-titled debut, the faux soundtrack, …When the Angels Make Contact) and band projects (the eponymous Matt Mays & El Torpedo record and 2008’s Terminal Romance). Following the dissolution of Matt Mays & El Torpedo in 2009, Matt released Coyote in 2012 to much acclaim, including a win at the JUNO Awards for Rock Album of the Year. His latest full length, Once Upon A Hell Of A Time, has catapulted Mays to new levels of notoriety and reverence in Canada and has also seen his international following grow to career-changing heights as well.
To see Matt Mays live is to have an experience you will not soon forget. If Mays is coming through your town on this summer run with The Gaslight Anthem, make sure to be in attendance. Tickets for all Matt Mays tour dates are available for purchase now and, in the meantime, you can check out his most recent full length here and a career-spanning playlist on Spotify.
MATT MAYS TOUR DATES
5/3 – London, ON @ London Music Hall
5/4 – Toronto ON @ Massey Hall
5/25 – Buffalo, NY @ The Leopard Lounge @ Town Ballroom
5/27 – Washington DC @ 9:30 Club (w/ The Gaslight Anthem)
5/28 – Washington DC @ 9:30 Club (w/ The Gaslight Anthem)
5/30 – New York, NY @ Rockwood Music Hall
6/1 – Albany, NY @ The Low Beat
6/2 – Montreal, QC @ Corona Theatre
6/22 – Oshawa, ON @ The Music Hall
6/23 – Peterborough, ON @ The Venue
6/24 – Ottawa, ON @ Ottawa Dragon Boat Festival
6/28 – Waterloo, ON @ Maxwell’s
6/29 – Owen Sound, ON @ Summertime Blues Music Festival
7/1 – Muskoka, ON @ The Kee to Bala
7/27 – Belleville, ON @Empire Square Live
8/11 – Chicago, IL @ Riviera Theatre (w/ The Gaslight Anthem)
8/23 – Hubbards, NS @ Shore Club
8/24 – Hubbards, NS @ Shore Club
8/25 – Hubbards, NS @ Shore Club
8/26 – Truro, NS @ Rock The Hub
9/7 – Vancouver, BC @ SKOOKUM Festival
9/22 – St John’s, NL @ Iceberg Alley