Acoustic rock & roll duo featuring Matt Whipkey

When singer and songwriter Matt Whipkey performs an acoustic show at an intimate venue, he still plays like there’s a band behind him. Having earned an Omaha Arts and Entertainment Award for artist and album of the year in 2013, Whipkey’s strong lyrical command and virtuoso guitar work is mesmerizing. Whipkey will be joined by Corey Anderson on Saturday, April 16, at 7:00 PM for an acoustic rock & roll show at the Red Cloud Opera House.

The show is a mixture of theatrical performance and rock concert, which makes it a great time. Theatrics aside, Whipkey said he knows the most important thing about performing—to present the music as best he can. “I’m always trying to make a connection with the audience,” he said. “If they’re up for that kind of relationship, it will always be a better show. I want to present the music as best I can. It’s exciting to me to see which songs are really talking to the audience on that particular evening.”

Whipkey doesn’t necessarily adhere to set lists. “I have songs I perform on a regular basis, but I have a wide catalog over the last decade—hundreds of songs,” he said. “That way I can go in many directions. If the gig calls for cover songs, I can do that, but I’m there to play my own music. I’m definitely not a cover artist, I’m a songwriter.”

According to rock and roll connoisseur Tim McMahan, “He’s something of a throwback to a simpler time, before the advent of slumped-shouldered, indifferent indie hip-stars who go out of their way to ignore the audience with dollops of you’re-lucky-we’re-even-performing contempt. Whipkey, on the other hand, is the ultimate stage performer, not satisfied if even one crowd member isn’t “into it,” whether it’s on a tiny lounge stage or at a mammoth amphitheater. Whipkey was born for the arena.”

For more information or to purchase tickets, please call the Red Cloud Opera House at 402-746-2641 or visit www.WillaCather.org. This show is sponsored by Heritage Bank. Programming at the Willa Cather Foundation’s Red Cloud Opera House is also made possible with support of the Nebraska Arts Council, the Nebraska Cultural Endowment, and the National Endowment for the Arts.