Matt Anderson will be hitting the stage in Red Deer with his diverse mix of music and love of entertaining.

“My whole life I was surrounded by music; I definitely grew up with lots of music in the house,” said Anderson, during a recent chat.

Anderson will be bringing his flare for music to the City on Sept. 23 at the Elks Lodge. Showtime is

“The music industry is really great. It’s cool to meet a lot of like minded people and I have made a ton of really great friends.”

Anderson has played here before and is looking forward to his return trip.

“I really enjoy the back and forth from me to the audience and getting the energy of the room and building up that way. It’s a really cool experience to get up there and perform for the audience.”

Anderson has been performing solo for more than eight years and has already produced multiple albums.

“Things to do to get into the industry for sure include no sitting around and waiting for it to happen. I was sick of performing in clubs so I just started writing and putting on my own shows.”

Anderson said when he first started out he didn’t worry about the money; he worried about getting his name out there and having his music heard.

“I played a lot of fundraisers where there were lots of people there to hear my music.”

Anderson added there is no one way to describe his style of music as he plays a little bit of blues as well as using influences from country and classic rock and incorporating his love of folk music.

“There’s a little bit of me in all of my songs or maybe sometimes it’s just a story I’ve heard from friends.”

Anderson said he has pieces of napkins and a pen in his van with lyrics and ideas written all over them. When he gets an idea it gets written down where ever he can.

“Some of my songs have some personal stuff in them but I play them every night so I have to do something that I can connect to.”

Being on the road all the time can sometimes take its toll but Anderson said its part of the job.

“It’s hard for all of us but it’s also part of what we do. A lot of people have to be away from home for different reasons so it’s just something we accept and enjoy our time together.”

As far as his music goes, Anderson said it is honest and what you see is what you get. There is no making it up or faking it on stage and he said that is the way he is off stage too.

Anderson grew up in New Brunswick and said there is a much different vibe out east than there is anywhere else in Canada.

“The music they do is probably the best. We are always kind of the underdogs so we have that vibe going for us.”

The first guitar Anderson ever received was a Christmas gift when he was just 14. He didn’t decide he wanted to do this forever at that point, but said there was no turning back once he knew what he could do.

“I just wanted to play the guitar for a while and then it was just something I’ve fallen in to.”

kpalardy@reddeerexpress.com