Matt McGinn (born 26 December 1978) is a Northern Irish singer/songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist, and arranger.[1][2] He has released several albums, as well as a number of E.P.s and collaborations with other artists.
Career
Matt McGinn became a professional musician in 2004 after leaving
Queen's University in Belfast where he was reading music. Performing as a multi-instrumentalist and session musician guitarist with
Juliet Turner and
Gareth Dunlop,[3][4] McGinn also found work as an engineer.[5]
A songwriter and performer in his own right, as of 2018 McGinn had written and produced three albums.[6][7]
In February 2012, McGinn played at the Belfast Nashville Festival, performing 'in the round' with
Nanci Griffith.[8] Later in 2012, and together with other contributors to the Northern Ireland Music Therapy Trust, McGinn recorded a CD of songs intended to support those with learning difficulties.[9]
In 2014, he won
RTÉ 2FM's competition 'Play the Picnic', giving unsigned artists the opportunity to play Ireland's largest festival,
Electric Picnic.[7][10] In a review of his 2015 album, Latter Day Sinner,
Folk Radio UK described some of his recordings as "drawn[ing] comparisons to Glen Hansard but, there's definite hints of Paul Simon in there too".[11]
In 2016, McGinn teamed up with fellow Northern Irish songwriters, Ben Glover & Malojian and toured Ireland and Europe under the moniker 'Northern Lights'.[12]
His music production credits include Jack O'Neill, an award-winning album with Guys & Dolls, and the debut album of Na Leanai.[13]
^Chilton, Martin (30 December 2015).
"Best Folk albums of 2015". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
^
ab"Matt McGinn, Singer Songwriter". Hot Press. 10 October 2018. Retrieved 9 January 2019 – via pressreader.com. Matt McGinn was the winner of RTÉ 2fm's 'Play the Picnic' competition in 2014. He has released three albums, including The End of the Common Man (2018)