Music Monday: Matt Hires & My Red + Blue

A few years ago (though I don't remember exactly when), an artist kept popping up on my Pandora mix and I grew to love it.  I had never heard of Matt Hires, but I was instantly drawn to his voice.  I wanted to see him live so badly, but we'd had several near-misses in the last year -- meaning he would come to my area and I was working or out of town.  Ugh.  So annoying.

If you follow me on Twitter or Instagram, you know the wait finally ended on Saturday night, when he played a show in Ames, so after my shift at the brewery and a stop off at a friend's party, I made the short drive. The show was on a university campus, so I figured I'd be the oldest person there (I was), and it made for a long day, but I couldn't pass up the chance to go to one of my happy places (a night spent lost in live music). I still have a bit of that post-concert rush. I hope it doesn't go away anytime soon.

A photo posted by @thebestmicah on Apr 18, 2015 at 10:43pm PDT

Matt Hires was absolutely worth the long wait and the long day. His voice sounded even better live, and though I was familiar with his catalog of work, the songs sounded different in person. More poignant, maybe.  Here's a song he wrote to benefit the Ronald McDonald House charity. 

So many feels.

As a bonus, My Red + Blue opened Saturday's show. He's another artist I discovered by accident when he opened for Matt Wertz last year.  It was love at first listen.  The entire EP he has out is wonderful, but this song has really struck me lately.

I can't wait for more new music from him. He sang a few new ones Saturday night, including one about a girl with green eyes.  As a green-eyed girl, I pretty much collect those songs.  Love.