In June of 2010, Mike Mattingly and his daughter were walking past One 19 North days before its opening.
"I peeked in and told Pat Carr, the owner, that I was a musician," recalls Mike. "He hired me without even hearing me. Since then, I've played there twice a month and every New Year's Eve."
Mike's three-hour sets typically start with acoustic stylings of his favorite covers layered in between his original music. "I play all my own instruments and record all my own tracks. I don't download or sequence anything."
That feeling of authenticity is what defines Mike's music.
Do yourself a favor. Stop reading this article and go pull up Mike's website to listen to some feel-good music: https://www.mikemattinglymusic.com/. There are eight original songs on his site, including Mike's tribute song to the Stanly Cup champions, "Let's Go Blues." This song brings back all the feels from Game 7.
"My hope is that you feel something, feel better, feel good," states Mike.
Mike's music has made at least one notable connection. "John O'Leary's wife heard me play at One 19 North seven years ago. She asked me to play at their Christmas party. I had no idea who he was. Since then, I've played at his house every year for Christmas. And I have played at each of his book launches. I love the O'Leary's. Really great people."
Mike played 189 shows last year, so it would be easy to assume that he spends a lot of time playing away from home. "Nowadays I spend like $12 on gas a year," beams Mike. "I could travel and play shows all over the place, but I want to play close to home." Mike plays at these five specific restaurants, One 19 North, Billy G's, 612, Mike Duffy's, and Kirkwood Brewhouse. "The owners and staff at these restaurants are genuinely awesome people. The restaurant business typically has a lot of turnover, but not at these places. There is a reason why."
After hearing Mike play, it’s clear that the music from this artist, husband, and family man comes from the heart of a musician filled with Growth, Peace & Gratitude.