The Journal

Issue date: 10/4/07 Section: Lifestyle

Media Credit: Max Gersh Mat Kearney performs in Sept. 28 in the Community Music School's parking lot.

Media Credit: Max Gersh Singer-songwriter Mat Kearney performs for an audience of 650 Sept. 28 on the Community Music School's parking lot. A Tennessee-based musician, Kearney has written songs that have appeared in television series, including "Grey's Anatomy," "Laguna Beach" and "One Tree Hill."

The Fallfest event that brought the most attendees this year was the Mat Kearney concert Sept. 28 on Lot L.

The concert was moved from its original location on the Quad to Lot L, a parking lot next to the Community Music School on Garden Avenue. The total number of attendees at the concert was 650 (including concert workers) - 318 Webster students, staff, faculty and alumni attended with 332 non-Webster attendants.

Tyler Burkham and Jessie Irwin, a 2003 Webster alumnus, opened for the show with Mat Kearney headlining. Irwin played folk guitar and sang songs such as "Ladusiers," a song making fun of the rich folks who reside in Ladue. The chorus to "Ladusier" is "You're a Ladusier, Ladusier, a hoosier that lives in Ladue!" Some of his other songs included lyrics about a pregnant drinker sitting beside him in a bar, Republican-bashing and having a crystal meth lab in South County. Though a little over-the-line, most concert attendees were smiling and laughing at the lyrics sang by Irwin.

Tyler Burkum followed Irwin and played a short set including the song "I'll Wait For You." Burkum also plays guitar for Mat Kearney.

Most students and non-students were at the concert to hear Mat Kearney, and he brought in many more attendees than last year's Homecoming headliner, Edwin McCain.

Jeremy Burrows, a senior at Missouri Baptist University, said he came to the concert to hear Mat Kearney. He said he has been following Kearney's career for the past five years and saw him at Blueberry Hill's Duck Room and at Washington University.

"I came to Webster's concert to hear Mat and hang with my friends," Burrows said. "He has a rich, deep voice that reminds me of Chris Martin of Coldplay, plus I love the spoken word format he incorporates into his songs."

Kearney has been signed to Columbia Records, and the majority of his current tour is played at colleges and smaller venue clubs. When asked what the name of the tour was, Kearney said he had not come up with a name. Then, he thought of a name on the spot.

"Well, since we're playing mainly at colleges and bars, I guess we could call it 'The Young Minds and Miller Lite Tour,' even though I really don't like Miller Lite," Kearney said.

Mat Kearney has toured with recording artists such as John Mayer, Sheryl Crow and The Fray. His current band members include Paul Moak and Burkum on guitar, Will Sayles on drums, Cason Cooley on keyboard and Kearney on guitar and lead vocals. Kearney usually plays rhythm acoustic guitar on stage. He also plays piano and harmonica. He and his band have been on tour the past three years and are currently promoting the album, "Nothing Left to Lose." Kearney said the tour has no specific ending date.

"The tour will end whenever people decide they don't want to hear me anymore," Kearney said. "Either that, or until I find a wife and have kids."

The hardest thing about being on tour this long, Kearney said, is being away from friends and people closest to him.

"Pain produces inspiration, but it also produces PAIN," Kearney said. "It's the good along with the bad."

Kearney is from Eugene, Ore., and attended college at California State University, Chico until he was a junior. Kearney said he is a self-taught guitarist. He said his college roommate never used his own guitar, so he picked it up one day and starting teaching himself how to play it.

"I wanted to play other people's songs, but wasn't very good at doing covers, so I decided to write my own songs so I would have something to play," Kearney said.

At age 21, Kearney took off to Nashville, Tenn., to follow his dream of becoming a musician. It paid off - most recently, Kearney was a guest on "The Tonight Show" Kearney said before that, his appearance on David Letterman was the most surreal because that was the late-night program he and his family used to watch. He said that was the moment where he thought "If I died tomorrow, everything would be okay."

While playing in San Francisco, Kearney was visited by a former professor from Cal State Chico University who told him he was working on getting Kearney an honorary bachelor's degree. In the fall, Kearney plans to start recording new songs. He said his hopes for the future are an ever-changing and evolving thing and that he wants his songs to encourage people who hear them.

"I know who I am and who I am not, and my failures and successes along with my faith tend to be the things that motivate and inspire me," Kearney said.

The concert ended around 10:30 p.m. with an encore by Mat Kearney and many students were very excited that they got to see Kearney perform at the university. Melissa Bright, a sophomore broadcast journalism major, said she loves Mat Kearney because he plays a lot of acoustic music, and that is what she likes to hear - and also because "he's really hot." Bright brought her 5-year-old daughter Trinity with her to the show.

"I always work on Friday nights, so it was really cool I got to bring her here with me," Bright said. "I am really into music, and I know Trinity is going to be just like me."

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