Tuesday, January 16, 7 p.m.
Triple Crown Whiskey Bar & Raccoon Motel, 304 East Third Street, Davenport IA
With his studio debut Compadre lauded by the Fort Worth Weekly for being “an adventurous foray beyond the musical norms that constrain less adventurous Americana songsmiths,” Texas musician Matthew McNeal performs a January 16 Moeller Nights concert in conjunction with his latest live session at Daytrotter, where the country, rock, and folk singer/songwriter last recorded in June of 2015.
A 24-year-old native of Terrell, Texas, McNeal grew up listening to country and R&B artists including George Jones, George Strait, and Teddy Pendergrass, and performed his first concert as a guitarist/vocalist when he was 14. Two years later, he fronted the high-school band Hey Jersey that played throughout North Texas, and in 2013, McNeal self-produced and -released the 10-song album When You're Down, a release that, according to NanobotRock.com, was “powerful but not overbearing” and “picks you up up with a deeply seated sense of honesty.”
With festival appearances, recording sessions, and tour dates following that release, McNeal teamed with drummer and high-school friend Andrew Black to record 2015's Compadre, produced at Texas' Redwood Studios by Joey McClellan and Grammy winner McKenzie Smith. And critics were again united in their praise, with EarToTheGroundMusic.com calling McNeal “a high-energy, captivating singer/songwriter,” and NoDepression.com raving about the artist's “excellent guitar picking” and how “McNeal's gritty poetic voice hooks the listener as quickly as a magnet attracts metal.”
Matthew McNeal's concert at Davenport's Triple Crown Whiskey Bar & Raccoon Motel starts at 7 p.m. tickets are $8, and more information is available by visiting MoellerNights.com.
