A Night with Matt Maltese
Article written and photos by Morgan Newbold
Everyone Adores Matt Maltese(at least I do). Earlier this month, Salt Lake City welcomed beloved English singer Matt Maltese to The Depot for a night of sweet music and living in the moment. I have been waiting patiently for him to come to Utah for several years, and when that day finally came, I could not miss it! Matt is such a talented musician and such a sweetheart. His music has comforted me and brought me to tears over and over again, and I knew hearing his silky honey voice in person would be magical. I was not disappointed, and I couldn’t have wished for a better venue for him to play at than The Depot. The atmosphere is always so warm and cozy. The sound is incredible, and there are no bad views.
Opening up for Matt was London’s own Cornelia Murr, a dream pop artist who’s talent is painting skies with her music. Her voice floats over gentle beats, piano, and light percussion. I had never seen her or heard her music, but I was an instant fan. Her band had such a warm energy and was incredibly genuine and sincere in their performance.
When Matt came out later on, he stood at the microphone and smiled at the crowd. Everyone was so excited, mere feet away from him. I was honestly in shock. I don’t usually shoot artists that I love as much as I have loved Matt, and being not even three feet away was surreal. As he started to sing the first song, the light cast a glimmering spotlight on him from above, and shadows split everywhere. His voice reverberated into the small room, and you could feel the deep baritone send chills down your arms. It was crazy! His voice is so smooth. He opened up with a newer song called Always Some MF(so true) and a favorite of mine, Curl Up and Die! He played some of my absolute favorites as well, like Less and Less and Krystal.
I made my way up to the balcony to watch the majority of the show in awe. Towards the end, he asked if it was anyone’s birthday, and he brought up a young fan on stage! The band sat her down on a chair and brought her a little birthday hat and candle-lit cupcake while Matt sang his own Happy Birthday song to her. It was so cute! He also brought out Cornelia Murr to sing Pined For You My Whole Life and closed out with Everyone Adores You(at least I do)! Everything about this show was stunning. The dim lighting was a challenge to photograph, but the atmosphere fit the performance perfectly. I would kill to see him live again!
