Member Since: 2/1/2006
Band Members: Matthew Bennett
vocals, acoustic guitars, banjo, mandolin
Matt Foundling
piano, keyboards
Tom Farnell jr
drums, percussion
Lesley Turner
backing vocals, violin, mandolin, tin whistle
Peter Brown
bass guitar
Influences: The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Ray Charles, Nick Drake, Tim and Jeff Buckley, The Band, Gram Parsons, Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen, Kate Rusby, Ryan Adams, Ron Sexsmith, Neil Young, The Clash, Johnny Cash, Ray Lamontagne, Emmylou Harris.
Sounds Like: What they say...
"The freshness and enthusiasm of these recently graduated musicians has been coupled with mature song writing and a polished production sound rarely found on a debut independent release. "Someday Soon†and “Looking Just Like You Are†almost have the feel of instant standards, the latter is a beautiful piano/violin ballad that grows from a Ryan Adams styled vocal intro to bloom into a full chorus. If someone from Radio 2 catches hold of this band, they could really take off. 67%"
The Line of Best Fit
"Plenty of energy! Following that vocal performance this band will be signed very soon"
Tom Robinson BBC 6Music
"The Matthew Bennett Band take you on a helterskelter that goes through far too big a range of feelings and joys to be legal, when emanating from a single band. Its real life but it has its hopes and the occasional smile. Give them a listen, you wont need another band for quite a while."
BG, The Gnome Label and Festival
"The band has been stirring up quite a lot of industry interest in the past few months...with Pogue-ish tracks such as Kill Me and hints here and there of influences as diverse as Wonderstuff and even folk man of the moment Seth Lakeman"
The Hull Daily Mail
"Birmingham's The Matthew Bennett Band conjure up images of Van Morrison,The Waterboys and Damien Rice over the course of their 'The March EP'."
CD Times
Record Label: Redhouse UK
Type of Label: Indie