Matt Maeson talks ‘Quiet and Harmless’ life in Nashville, behind the scenes at show

As guitars tuned and drums riffs rattled throughout the Ryman Auditorium on Oct. 30, Matt Maeson sat backstage in a dressing room.

It was ruckus outside, and it’d soon be blaring rock ‘n’ roll onstage, but Maeson rested in the calm before the storm.

That’s what his September album, “A Quiet and Harmless Living,” is all about.

“The storyline is pretty evident,” he said. “(It’s about) the last four years of my life, going from being a tour dog, getting f***ed up every night, to now being a father of a 4-year-old and a husband.”

The songs capture “all the mess in between.”

The third studio album, which Maeson is currently touring, follows his struggle to balance those two worlds in Nashville, what it’s like to crave quiet in the midst of constant noise.

The 32-year-old indie folk-rocker, who is known for his hits “Cringe” and “Hallucinogenics,” moved to Music City in 2021 from Austin, Texas when he and his wife learned they were expecting their first child.

Now, they live on the outskirts of town in Brentwood.

With gruff vocals, intensely honest lyrics and compositions that range from messy alt-rock to grungy folk, Maeson’s album, and captivating live show, brings listeners into his head and home.

Here’s what to know about Maeson’s career, the stories behind his songs and his recent homecoming show.

From touring in prison ministries to Nashville singer-songwriter

In 2016, Maeson moved to L.A. after signing a record deal, then Texas.

That year, his debut single “Cringe” topped the Billboard Alternative Songs chart, as did 2019’s “Hallucinogenics.”

He hit the stage at festivals like Lollapalooza and Bonnaroo, dropped two full-length records, supported Zach Bryan on tour and recorded alongside Gryffin, Illenium, and Chelsea Cutler.

Maeson first played the Ryman in 2023 sans band.

“You can absolutely feel the history,” he said, though Maeson wasn’t brought up on country music.

Raised in Virginia by his pastor father, Maeson was only allowed to listen to Christian music.

He cut his teeth performing with his parents’ prison ministry, touring throughout the nation’s prison system and performing for inmates. In his late teen years, Maeson discovered Linkin Park, AFI and Brand New. Eventually, he found Kanye West and Lil Wayne.

A lot of Maeson’s music grapples with his religious past; performing at the Mother Church of Country Music marks a homecoming in multiple ways.

“Rippin’ with my sinners,” he sings in “Hallucinogenics.”

“Go find yourself a man / Who’s strong and tall and Christian.”

Though Maeson’s moved away from organized religion, adding he discovered most of it is “90% bulls***,” he practices his own version of Christianity.

“It’s pretty easy … just live like Jesus did,” he said.

“Be kind to your neighbor and love people like you want to be loved.”

Matt Maeson bares his soul at Ryman

At his Ryman concert, Maeson belted, screamed and yearned through song in front of family and friends.

With a sound reminiscent of artists from Rainbow Kitten Surprise to Zach Bryan, Maeson gripped the audience, who sang along song by song.

His tracks are for anyone who has grappled with their purpose, from religion to family life. They’re for the people pulling themselves up by their bootstraps to start adulting, a universal rite of passage.

More: Rainbow Kitten Surprise on Nashville move, new album and a collab with Kacey Musgraves

Maeson kicked off the show with the song “A Good Start.”

“I thought I was king / Making all that money that made me nothing / Cut to maniacal fits / And suppression losin’ its grip,” he sang. But despite all the pain, he crooned he’s “off to a good start.”

His track “Downstairs” filled the Ryman with a punk-rock flair reminiscent of The Pixies; it was the first song Maeson wrote for the record.

“It was six months after my son was born and it was just so brutal. That transition was so much harder than I thought it would be,” he said. “I would find myself every day being like, ‘I just want to get everything done so I can escape downstairs and be isolated.'”

One of the highlights of the show was “Everlasting,” a quieter moment. Maeson took the keys as a spotlight shined on him.

“Why can’t you just get up, get out? / Leave your wife and your kid and your house?” he sang.

“Golly, boy, you’re such a fool / Don’t you know we count on you?” he replied to himself on the chorus, swells of strings bubbling under his voice. “Grit your teeth and make us proud / Fake it when you don’t know how.”

Maeson wrote the song after an argument with his wife.

“I went downstairs an emotional wreck,” he said. “It felt like I couldn’t sing in my full voice or I would cry; that’s why the song is so whispery.”

The track feeds into the crux of his record.

“It would be so much easier if I just had a quiet and harmless living and I didn’t go on tour,” he said. “But it’s not really a choice, because if I quit doing this, then I’d be purposeless.”

Now, he’s struck the balance.

Despite the grappling in Maeson’s music and the tortured moments in his live show, this chapter, Maeson said, is one where he feels at peace.

“I’ve prioritized my family and my home as number one. Music is second … it’s taken so much of the pressure off,” he said.

“I feel very happy. I feel very loose and free.”

Maeson’s American tour will wrap up mid-November. He will embark on a European tour in January.

To learn more, visit mattmaeson.com.

Audrey Gibbs is a music journalist at The Tennessean. You can reach her at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Matt Maeson talks his ‘Quiet and Harmless’ life at Nashville Ryman