Interns on the Town with Matt Wertz’ at Vanderbilt University

NMG Intern, Spencer Hoddeson and Matt Wertz
Matt Wertz and NMG Intern, Spencer Hoddeson 

“Baby I Confess, I Was Not Expecting This”

Just kidding, I was. As a Matt Wertz fan since 2008, I was thrilled to hear that he would not only be playing on Vandy’s campus, but he would be playing right in front of my dorm.

Wertz performed in the newly added lounge in Rand dining hall. The lounge created such a cool environment, with an intimate atmosphere for the hundred-student turnout. Saying that the performance was awesome is not an adequate explanation – I went in stressed and left feeling so uplifted.

Let me explain – going into the lounge, I had only one thing on my mind: my two midterms the following day. Although I had these two stressors hanging over my head, there was absolutely no way that I could miss the opportunity to see Matt Wertz performing. Within minutes, my stress went out the door and all of my attention turned from my study guides to Wertz’ entrancing voice.

While midterms are seemingly trite for non-college students, it is a big deal for a college student, and the fact that Matt’s performance can inadvertently provide an escape for stress shows how necessary it is he becomes a household name.

Not only did Wertz go above and beyond with his music, he was so cool and down to earth. Despite the fact that Wertz was only supposed to perform for an hour, he performed two extra songs and met with every single student that wanted to meet with him after. Further, Wertz took time in between songs to chat with the audience, crack some great jokes and talk about touring and his personal life. It was cool to find out that back in 2010 Wertz recorded his music video for his song “I Just Realized” with one of his fans. Fast-forward two years; his fan is no longer just a face in the crowd, but the up-coming country star, Jana Kramer – who was recently nominated as a New Artist of the Year for the American Country Awards.

On top of chatting us up, Wertz played three prospective songs from his latest album, “What I Know Right Now,” “Get to You,” and my personal favorite, “Whenever You Love Somebody.”

While all three songs were album-worthy, “Whenever You Love Somebody” is clearly an archetypal Matt Wertz hit. All of his songs have so much emotion in them, and they are so genuine. Matt explained the stories behind some of his songs and all of his new songs. “5:19” and “Marianne” were surprisingly about a girl he dated that went to Vanderbilt! I could go on to verbally serenade Wertz even more, but I think you will not be able to understand the greatness without a firsthand experience.

If you’re reading this, look up “Matt Wertz” on YouTube or iTunes, you will not be disappointed!

 

Spencer Hoddeson – October 2012

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