Matt Maeson

Chesapeake Bay native Matt Maeson plays a dark-hued brand of rock that mixes gritty folk elements with slick modern pop production. The singer/songwriter first found success with his 2017 single "Cringe," then topped Billboard's Alternative Songs chart with "Hallucinogenics" from his 2019 debut album, Bank On the Funeral. Over the next two years, Maeson focused on collaborations, and in 2021 formed the project USERx with producer Rozwell. In 2022, he returned to solo work, releasing his second LP, Never Had to Leave, followed in 2024 by an intimate acoustic live album. His third solo LP, the deeply introspective A Quiet and Harmless Living, arrived in September 2025.

Maeson took to music early, learning drums and guitar at a young age and eventually touring as part of his father's prison ministry. Already a budding songwriter struggling through a rebellious period in his late teens, the experience of performing at high-security prisons and various other dark corners of society made a lasting impression on Maeson and helped realign his focus on his career as a singer/songwriter. Melding bluesy indie folk and modern production, he began posting tracks online and eventually caught the ear of Atlantic affiliate Neon Gold Records, which signed him in 2016. Maeson embarked on his first headlining tour that summer, which was presented by Communion, the music organization founded by Mumford & Sons' Ben Lovett.

Led by the singles "Cringe" and "Grave Digger," Maeson's debut EP, Who Killed Matt Maeson?, was released in conjunction with Atlantic and Neon Gold in March 2017. A year later, he issued a six-song EP, The Hearse, followed in 2019 by his full-length debut, Bank On the Funeral. The album included the alternative chart-topping single "Hallucinogenics." A later version of the same song featured guest vocals from Lana Del Rey. In 2020, Maeson formed a new band, USERx, with producer Rozwell. The duo released their eponymous debut project in 2021. That same year, he guested on Illenium's Heavenly Side EP.

Returning to solo work in 2022, Maeson began ramping up to his next album with the hypnotic and bluesy "Blood Runs Red" and the poignant "A Memory Away." These two singles were featured on his sophomore LP, Never Had to Leave, released in August of that year. A pair of non-album tracks, "Rational" and "Get Happy," appeared in 2023, and the following year saw the release of Maeson's first live album, an intimate acoustic set titled That's My Cue: A Solo Experience. The studio single "Everlasting" arrived in June 2025 followed a few months later by the Manchester Orchestra collaboration "Cursive." These two songs anchored his third album, A Quiet and Harmless Living, released in September. Written after a period of substantial life changes (marriage, fatherhood, a move to Nashville), it bore a more ruminative and peaceful tone than earlier releases. ~ Timothy Monger