MUSIC
ALBUM
King Of (Un)Simple LP – Released 02/07/25
King Of (Un)Simple
Album Credits
Producers: Butch Walker, David Baron, Mike Viola
“Uptown Girl” – Released 03/12/2026
VIDEO
PRESS
(on Matt Nathanson’s Billy Joel tribute performance at Carnegie Hall)
…Nathanson got the crowd more fired up than anyone else by playing an achingly tender, solo acoustic rendition of “I Got To Extremes,” and then followed it with a bombastic take on “Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)” that had the entire room joining in.
…for Boston Accent, [Nathanson] set out to make a true singer-songwriter album, and name-checked some of his favorite artists in the field — including Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell, Carole King and the Indigo Girls.
The Howard Stern Show
Nathanson is a champion charmer, as you can hear in this acoustic set accompanied by Aaron Tap on guitar, keys and backing vocals. His catalog is already filled with a variety of anthems and the hooks, which he seemingly has an endless supply of, are his secret weapon.
BIOGRAPHY
Over three decades, Matt Nathanson has built a career on sharp songwriting, disarming honesty, and a live show that feels more like group therapy than a concert. He broke through with Some Mad Hope, which launched the RIAA multi-platinum hit “Come On Get Higher” and introduced his gift for pairing intimacy with arena-sized hooks.
He followed with Modern Love, hailed by PopMatters as “the closest a pop album comes to perfection,” producing the Gold-certified singles “Faster” and “Run” (featuring Sugarland). 2013’s Last of the Great Pretenders debuted at #16 on the Billboard 200 and hit #1 on iTunes’ Alternative chart, cementing Nathanson as one of the most consistent voices in modern pop-rock. Later releases, including Sings His Sad Heart, continued his exploration of romantic idealism and self-interrogation, producing the Adult Top 40 hit “Used To Be.”
But Nathanson’s longevity isn’t built on chart stats alone. It’s built on connection. His songs carry a restless self-awareness, questioning his own patterns as much as anyone else’s, delivered with a humor that keeps the heaviest moments grounded. That balance between emotional depth and self-aware commentary has earned him a fiercely loyal audience that has grown up alongside him.
A devoted music obsessive, Nathanson has also built a reputation for reimagining the albums that shaped him. His Def Leppard–approved tribute to Pyromania, titled Pyromattia, topped the iTunes Alternative chart and earned praise from Joe Elliott for its “heart & soul.” He later revisited U2’s Achtung Baby with Achtung Matty, honoring one of his formative influences while making the material distinctly his own.
Onstage, he’s as quick with a punchline as he is with a confessional lyric, a combination that has taken him from intimate theaters to amphitheaters and onto national platforms including The Howard Stern Show, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Ellen, Dancing with the Stars, Rachael Ray, and The CMA Awards. He’s also been featured on NPR’s World Cafe, Mountain Stage, and Acoustic Café, a rare artist equally at home in listening rooms and the broader cultural spotlight.
Three decades in, Matt Nathanson remains what he’s always been: a songwriter unafraid of vulnerability, still chasing the perfect line, and still willing to laugh at himself along the way.