Who Is Matt Hires

Matt Hires is coming to the Mix Lounge on Tuesday, May 3rd at 5pm for an acoustic performance. You may have heard his song on Mix 93.1 called "Honey Let Me Sing You A Song", but who is Matt Hires?

He is a singer-songwriter from Tampa, Florida who was born into a musical family. Matt's Dad introduced him to music at a young age and even gave him a hand made guitar that he still plays today.

Matt was Initially drawn to the punk, Post-hardcore, and Emo scenes. He  later developed an interest in artists like Tom Petty and Bob Dylan, which explains the uniqueness of his vocal and instrumental harmonies that dabble in both traditional and contemporary musical realms.

Matt began his music career as frontman for a Tampa based band called Brer. The band's debut record, Microwavable, was produced by Will Denton, longtime drummer for Steven Curtis Chapman.

Atlantic Records A&R executive, Gregg Nadel, fell in love with his sound. Soon Hires began working with producer Eric Rosse (Sara Bareilles, Tori Amos, David Archuleta), and together they recorded his first full-length record.

Matt released his debut EP, Live From the Hotel Cafe, under F-Stop Music/Atlantic Records, on October 7, 2008. Although only four songs in length, the EP gained him solid exposure, with critics comparing him to the likes of Jack Johnson, John Mayer, Matt Costa, Mat Kearney, and Bright Eyes. But still, critics conceded that Matt has a sincerity and authenticity of his own.

Building his fan base in preparation for his debut album, Matt appeared at the SXSW Music Festival and on the 2009 Mayercraft Carrier. He has also opened for Dave Matthews, Marc Broussard, O.A.R., and Paolo Nutini.

On July 28, 2009 Matt Hires released his debut full-length album, Take Us To The Start, featuring his first single, “Honey Let Me Sing You A Song.” The album also features, “You in The End,” co-written by Sara Bareilles.^[5] Two tracks from Take Us To The Start have already appeared on Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice, Cougar Town on ABC and Life Unexpected on The CW.