Musician Matt Nakoa will bring his unique sound to Findlay Nov. 17.
FINDLAY — Matt Nakoa’s talent has taken him all across the country.
And now it is taking him to a place that he is expecting to be another hidden gem to discover at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 17: the University of Findlay’s Marathon Center for the Performing Arts.
“It’s really one of the joys of what I do that I get to go around to many different places and discover them,” he said. “And you find out, ‘Oh, my gosh, this is the best bakery I’ve ever been to!’ and it’s in Iowa City or whatever it is. You’ve sort of discovered these hidden gems of towns. And that’s a real joy. That’s my favorite. In fact, I like to play and I like to do the music side of things. But one of the best parts of what I do is getting to know the folks in different places and getting to know the special hidden secret spots. I’m excited to just sort of check out what you got going on in town.”
But for the multi-instrumentalist, the show itself will be more about what he brings to the table as a new and different sound.
“Well, my music is quite eclectic,” he said. “I grew up playing classical piano and I still do. I still perform as a classical pianist. But I also have been a rock and roller for years, and quite often perform solo by myself. So that lends itself to more of an unplugged acoustic sound. So really, it’s something in the middle of classical meets rock meets folk. And I like to put together a concert that’s engaging from start to finish, almost like you’re going to see a play or something like that. There’s a throughline, there’s a connection with the audience. It’s not just one song and then another song and then another song, ad nauseam. It’s, it’s much more of a throughline, much more of a collective evening.”
Nakoa, who studied at Berklee College of Music and made a name for himself in New York City piano bars, described his music as emotional and funny but said that he tailors his sets to what the atmosphere of the venue is like.
“It all kind of comes together into a sweeping experience and I can’t tell you exactly what it will be because I tend to have to roll with whatever the vibe is in the room at the time,” he said. “Every audience is going to be different and the energy is going to be different every time. And it would be silly and foolish to just do the same show. Some people just do the same show every night or whatever. And I’ve never been like that. I like to really be present with the audience. So I’ll just get present with the audience, with the room, the way the music sounds in the room, and what the piano is like there. And then magic happens. I think when you are present, magic tends to happen.”
And Nakoa hopes that something really important comes from that magic.
“Well, right now, I feel like it would be lovely if people went away from the concert with a feeling that they just spent 90 minutes in a room with all kinds of other people that they may know or may not know, they may see eye to eye with on all kinds of things or they might not, but it doesn’t matter for that 90 minutes,” he said.
Nakoa, whose albums “Light in the Dark” and “A Dozen Other Loves” came out in 2012 and 2014, is working on a new album that will feature his own piano compositions in a classical style in time for Christmas, as well as another rock record. he can be found on http://www.mattnakoa.com and most social media platforms.
IF YOU GO
WHAT: Matt Nakoa in concert
WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Nov. 17
WHERE: Armes Hall, Marathon Center for the Performing Arts, 200 W. Main Cross St., Findlay
Tickets range from $15 to $50 and are available at https://sforce.co/3G1u7Tj.
Reach Jacob Espinosa at 567-242-0399.
