Matt Masters
 | This article has an unclear citation style. (July 2015) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) |
Matt Masters | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 23, 1976 Calgary, Alberta, Canada |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter, musician |
| Instruments | Vocal, guitar |
| Years active | since 1998 |
| Website | www.mattmasters.ca |
Matthew Sean (Masters) Burgener, known professionally as Matt Masters (born March 23, 1976) is a singer, songwriter and guitarist from Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He began his career in 1998.[1]
Biography[edit]
Masters grew up in Calgary. He was in several rock bands in high school before playing professionally with his band Gentlemen of the Rodeo.[2] He began to write songs around age 21.[3]
He released his debut album, Centennial Swell, in 2006, described by Exclaim! as "drawing from the honky-tonk and outlaw books of sound." His sophomore album, All-Western Winners, was released in 2011, and was described by country music publication No Depression as an album of "rough timbres, distorted guitars, and dense arrangements."[2] The album was named after the 1940s comic series of the same name and inspired by the Black Rider, who was also named Matt Masters.[4]
In June 2008, Masters premiered an original country and western musical titled Don Coyote with Blackfoot and Ojibway First Nations artist Terrance Houle, whom Masters met through the Calgary rock music scene. The musical is based on Miguel de Cervantes' Don Quixote. It recasts Quixote, as described by the Calgary Herald, as a "lonesome Internet cowboy." The show played at the Glenbow Museum in Calgary, directed by Vanessa Porteous[5][6][7][8] and was later featured at the High Performance Rodeo in Calgary and the Nuit Blanche Festival in October in Toronto, Ontario.[9][10] That year, he also founded the Spaghetti Western Festival, an alt-country and folk music festival in Calgary.[2]
In 2007, two of Masters' songs featured on the TV program Rabbit Fall (season 1, episode 5).[11] In April 2009, Masters began to play music at occasional Calgary Flames home games at the Pengrowth Saddledome.[12] That year he also toured England and Germany, and on June 9 performed at the Canadian Embassy in Turkey.[13]
Masters has performed at the Alberta Pavilion during the Vancouver Olympic Games and emceed the Calgary Folk Music Festival.[2] In June 2015 Masters was hired by the city of Calgary to consult on the city's busking policy.[14] His song "Oh Saskatchewan" was featured in two films by Canadian director Michael Dowse, Goon (2011) and The F Word (2013). Other films he has worked on include Western Confidential (A Legend of Whitey) (2011) and the 2006 documentary Late Harvest.
In 2017 Masters began hosting a daily radio program on the CKUA Radio Network in Alberta.[15] Matt stopped hosting his program in May of 2020 as his attentions turned to Curbside Concerts.
As a response to the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, Masters and his wife, Amanda Burgener, founded Curbside Concerts, a company that books outdoor concerts around Canada, including Winnipeg, Alberta, Toronto, and Manitoba. The company held over 500 concerts throughout 2020, including Christmas caroling events, and has a roster of more than 50 musicians.[16][17][18]
New Democratic Party candidacy[edit]
In July 2015, Masters declared his intent to seek the New Democratic Party nomination in the federal riding of Calgary Heritage for that autumn's federal election, against incumbent Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper. He ran using his full name, Matt Masters Burgener.[19] He finished in third place behind Harper and Liberal candidate Brendan Miles, taking 7.2 percent of the vote. Nonetheless, his campaign</ref> attracted national attention for its creativity with lawn signs featuring custom messages by the public[20] and a unique campaign video.[21]
Artistry[edit]
Masters' inspirations include, in addition to country music, indie rock bands The Tragically Hip and The Flaming Lips.[15] He has played with Jeff Healey and The Dudes as a drummer.[22]
Recognition[edit]
In September 2009, Masters was awarded the Telus Arts Award for Artistic Innovation at the 2009 Mayor's Awards for Business and the Arts in Calgary.[23]
In 2021, Curbside Concerts won the Music Cities Award for Best Innovation to Support Musician and Music Cities. (https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=406207367864364)
In 2022, Curbside Concerts won the Canadian Live Music Industry Award - For the love of live - Organization/Company (https://www.fyimusicnews.ca/articles/2022/06/11/canadian-live-music-industry-awards-winners-announced)
Discography[edit]
- The Alberta Reporter (2000)
- Centennial Swell (2006)
- Don Coyote (2008)
- All-Western Winners (2011)
- Everybody Loves a Winner (2021)
References[edit]
- ↑ Matt Masters Biography Archived September 1, 2009, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved November 6, 2009
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Turnbull, Gillian (16 August 2011). "Matt Masters: His New Album and the Spaghetti Western Festival". No Depression. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
- ↑ "Calgary's Matt Masters on his journey from 'city guy' to country crooner". CBC. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
- ↑ Cormier, Val. "Folk Oasis". CITR. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
- ↑ Tousley, Nancy (9 July 2008). "Coyote's no quixotic artistic affair". Calgary Herald. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
- ↑ "Glenbow Museum Past Exhibitions". Retrieved 2009-11-07.
- ↑ "Stage Picks". Calgary Herald. Archived from the original on August 5, 2011. Retrieved November 7, 2009. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Edgy art slides into music fest". Calgary Herald. September 29, 2008. Retrieved 2009-11-07.[dead link]
- ↑ "Nuit Blanche event at Centre for Contemporary Canadian Art, Toronto". Retrieved 2009-11-07.
- ↑ "12 exhibitions not to miss during Nuit Blanche Thu Oct 2 2008 at thestar.com". The Star. Toronto. October 2, 2008. Retrieved 2009-11-07.
- ↑ "IMBD entry for Rabbit Fall soundtrack". Retrieved 2009-11-07.
- ↑ "Calgary Flames events calendar". Retrieved 2009-11-07.
- ↑ "Masters's Turkish delight:Calgary's hardest-working country crooner celebrates Canada Day abroad July 9, 2009". Fast Forward Weekly. Archived from the original on March 6, 2012. Retrieved November 7, 2009. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Matt Masters takes on new role as Calgary's busker liaison". CBC News. June 6, 2015.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 da Cunha, Jessica (6 March 2020). ""Five Minutes With" with Calgary Songwriter and Radio Host Matt Masters". Retrieved 18 February 2021.
- ↑ "Curbside Concerts: an original concept". La Liberté. 2 December 2020. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
- ↑ Duncan, Katherine. "Key of A: Matt Masters' Curbside Concerts". CBC. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
- ↑ Gallant, Colin (29 January 2021). "Calgarians We Love: Matt Masters". Avenue Calgary. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
- ↑ "NDP, Liberals line up to challenge Harper in Conservative stronghold". Calgary Herald. July 22, 2015.
- ↑ "NDP campaign gets creative in Stephen Harper's riding". CBC News. Sep 13, 2015.
- ↑ Vincent, Donovan (October 14, 2015). "'Brilliant' campaign video contains message about taking on Stephen Harper". Toronto Star.
- ↑ Richie, Travis. "Matt Masters: Centennial Swell". Exclaim!. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
- ↑ 2009 Mayor's awards winners. "Calgary Professional Arts Alliance". Archived from the original on July 15, 2011. Retrieved November 7, 2009. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help)
External links[edit]
This article "Matt Masters" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Matt Masters. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
