Over the past few years, The Matt O’Ree Band has done what most area bands do. They’ve played their shows, developed their sound, released their records, and very quietly built a massive fan base in the process. What makes this band different from all the others is that their local fan base includes Bruce Springsteen, David Bryan (Bon Jovi), Steve Cropper (Booker T & the MG’s), John Popper (Blues Traveler), the late Bernie Worell (P-Funk) and the late Hubert Sumlin (Howlin Wolf), all of whom had volunteered to perform on the band’s album, Brotherhood. When some of your biggest supporters have sold over 200 million units, you know you’re doing something right.

Growing up on influencers ranging from Jimi Hendrix, Cream, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Rory Gallagher, ZZ Top, Robin Trower, Joe Walsh, and Stevie Ray Vaughan, the Matt O’Ree Band has taken all these diverse elements and forged a new iron.

Matt’s songwriting is inspired by many life experiences and years of study from the ones that have written the book on how to play real guitar rock music. Not as a photocopy, but in a new light that hasn’t been seen in quite some time.

In addition to being a creative songwriter, Matt was recognized by the industry as a guitar great after winning a national guitar contest hosted by B.B. King and John Mayer through Guitar Center and Guitar World magazine. Matt beat out over 4,000 competitors to win the grand prize which consisted of multiple guitars, an endorsement from Gibson, a shopping spree at Guitar Center, and a new car from Scion. This major accomplishment was the spark that jumpstarted his career and gave his band momentum for their future success.

Presented by Count Basie Center for the Arts