Matt McGinn
Matt McGinn
Entry Requirements: Over 14's (Under 18's must be accompanied by and adult)
We are delighted to welcome the outstanding Irish singer songwriter Matt McGinn to 50rpm. Matt recently played a stunnning set at this years Butesong festival.
** Please note we operate a no talking policy when acts are performing. Please be a considerate gig goer and don't spoil it for others **
** Our venue is located up stairs so is not suitable for wheelchair users and those with walking difficulties may have difficulty **
Matt McGinn is a singer, songwriter & producer from Hilltown in Co. Down. His 5th and latest album release ‘Time Well Spent’ was RTÉ Radio 1 and BBC Radio Ulster’s ‘Album of the Week’ at the beginning of 2022 and features a wealth of incredible musicians like legendary fiddle player Eliza Carthy MBE and award wining folk singer Aoife Scott.
Matt was named ‘one to watch’ in 2020 by Hotpress Magazine, and rightly so. Since then he had 4 singles top The BBC Radio Ulster and RTÉ Radio 1 radio airplay charts. His album ‘Lessons of War’ received much acclaim. The lead track ‘Bubblegum’ ft. Ciara O’Neill, which was written with Mick Flannery, promted BBC 6 Music’s Tom Robinson to ask the question “…now wasn’t that just extraordinary?…”
In a virtual session in Folk Alliance in 2020 Matt 'met' Aoife Scott, daughter of Frances Black, and sang for her his song 'Time Well Spent'. Aoife loved the song so much and was delighted when Matt asked her to duet on it. It became one of Ireland's biggest folk songs in 2021.
In 2022 Matt was commissioned by Northern Ireland Screen to compose a Suite to celebrate their Digital Archives. Matt composed, arranged and performed in 'Tribute to Willie Campbell', a man who busked the streets of Belfast for 40 years until he died in 1969. Matt's piece was filmed and is touring Irish Film Festivals next year.
As lockdown began in March of 2020, Matt, along with fellow performer Cormac Neeson of The Answer, developed the online platform Cocoons. Spanning over 60 weeks, it became a much loved diverse and inclusive platform that has saw performances from over 140 established artists all around the word and raised over £12,000 for various charities.
Recorded live in 2 days with incredible Irish musicians, Matt will be releasing his 6th studio album ‘Behind Every Door’ in Spring 2023.
"A very lucky find...a beautiful thing on a Saturday morning" Fergal Sharkey
"One of our very best songwriters..." Ralph McClean BBC Radio Ulster
"Matt, your album is superb... I've seen Matt play live and he's fantastic!" Bob Harris
Line Up
Recorded between Nashville, Tennessee, and a farmhouse in Co. Down, 'The End of the Common Man is the 3rd long-play offering from Irish songwriter, Matt McGinn.
'The End of the Common Man' features not only the best of local musicians from the north of Ireland, but heavy hitters from all over, namely Nashville's six string virtuoso Kris Donegan (Rick Rubin/Shania Twain), on the Double Bass from England, Jon Thorne (Yorkston,Thorne,Khan/LAMB), and a special appearance from Germany's Carolina Eyck, one of the world’s foremost Theremin virtuosi.
'The End of the Common Man' is more than a collection of well crafted melodies and performances. It takes a close look at aspects of failures in today's society. The title track tells of a man who has lost everything due to corporate greed. 'Marianne' portrays a father who in an act of desperation to feed his family, turns to criminality. And while 'Trump' gives a satirical view to the Leader of the Free World, the 'End of Days' provides a more sober picture of how this prominent figure could affect us all.
Cutting his teeth on the Belfast music scene from an early age, Matt was opening for blues and folk legends; Peter Green, John Hammond Jnr, Chris Smither, John Renbourn to name a few. He performed his original material in specialised speakeasy's in front of select and true music fans, and even survived a lengthy residency in Belfast's now legendary Rotterdam Bar. However around the same time with his reputation as a multi-instrumental session musician growing, Matt was a choice player for many touring bands, who occasion shared the bill with the likes of Paul McCartney, Elvis Costello, Crowded House, and Crosby Stills & Nash.
He is a frequent visiter to Nashville to co-write. Many of these works have featured on American and international television. And, his 2016 single, 'the Long Way' was written with Grammy Nominee Kim Richey and Belfast's Gareth Dunlop.
'The End of the Common Man' brings to the fore not only the song writing capabilities of Matt McGinn, but a new found confidence as performer, arranger and producer.
