Back in January, I finally had the opportunity to see my old friend and fellow Southern Regional High School alum, Matt McAndrew, perform live in New York City. It had only been a few weeks since he took second place on NBC’s The Voice, where the rest of the world discovered just how talented Matt truly was.
Matt would eventually sign with Republic Records and release his first single, “Counting On Love,” and head on the road for his first tour as a signed artist. He played a few shows with Andy Grammer and American Authors before getting his biggest break since The Voice; opening for Maroon 5 and Nick Jonas on the beach in Atlantic City.
Last year, Atlantic City started putting on these giant concerts on the beach featuring artists like Lady Antebellum, and Blake Shelton. These shows were huge successes and AC attracted even bigger names for the following year. Matt greeted the massive crowd that would go on to reach almost 50,000 and began his show by saying that he was from Long Beach Island and that he can’t believe he’s playing this show. I spoke with Matt backstage and he told me he wasn’t feeling well, but he was still ready to put on a great show. And boy did he ever.
Matt sounded better sick, than most artists do in full health. He played through some of the covers that made him a household name on The Voice including “Take Me to Church” by Hozier, and “A Thousand Years” by Christina Perri. He would go on to play his latest single “Counting On Love,” and close out his incredible opening set with an amazing rendition of “Wasted Love,” which included jumping off the stage, interacting with the crowd, and having them help sing the song that actually knocked Taylor Swift out of the #1 position on iTunes during his final week on The Voice.
Overall, the Atlantic City Beach Concert was a great way to spend a Sunday in the summer, and Matt McAndrew’s opening set was a clear indicator that someday soon he will be headlining shows like this all over the world. It’s just a matter of time before Adam Levine and company are opening for the Barnegat Light native.
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