“What do I love most about Morgantown? The music scene!” shares William Matheny, smiling as he mans the merch booth. It’s Friday night at 123 Pleasant Street, and the Morgantown rocker and band are getting ready to debut their new album Strange Constellations, with friends Ona and Adam’s Remnant opening for the evening.
The Mannington native and Morgantown resident is a local music icon, one of the few musicians to travel and perform nationally. His music has been compared to an Appalachain Elvis Costello, featuring a lyrically gifted, high energy, and endearingly earnest sound. Think three parts indy rock, two parts southern rock, and one part sincere and honest introspection. His music has been featured on West Virginia Public Radio’s nationally broadcast Mountain Stage program, and he’s got another 70 shows booked across the coming months. “In the next week, we’re going to be in New York, Philadelphia, D.C., Nashville, we’re playing South By Southwest. We have to be on tour a lot, but that’s the way it is” shares Matheny.
Strange Constellations was a labor of love for Matheny and the band. It’s taken them nearly two years of work to complete the album, including recording sessions in Nashville and Athens OH. “There was a keyboard player we really wanted on the record,” explains Matheny, “We went to Nashville to meet up with him- his name is Shane Keister, he played with Elvis, he’s unreal.”
When he’s not traveling on tour, you can find Matheny living in Morgantown’s South Park neighborhood. “You can have a music career anywhere you want, really.” explains Matheny, “Everbody’s gotta live somewhere. So you make a lot of friends, you do your thing. If you want to travel, you can do that too. Morgantown is close to a lot of places, so that does make it really convenient.” Readers may recognize Matheny from his day job at a local UPS store, where he works between shows. “My boss is a huge supporter,” says Matheny, laughing. “Here’s here at the show tonight.”
What can fans expect from the new album? “I don’t want to hamper anyone’s takeaway from the album, of course. A lot of the songs are about circumstance, how things in life play out, and how you don’t always understand your own motives.” Fans can order the album on CD or Vinyl at williammatheny.com, or find the album online through Spotify, Apple Music, Google Play, and Amazon. And, for anyone looking forward to his next 123 Pleasant Street show, mark your calendars for May 31st.