His audition: Matt Tedder, 20, of Weatherford, Texas, auditioned with Muddy Waters’ “Hoochie Coochie Man.” Adam Levine turns his chair before Matt even hit the chorus. He complimented Matt on singing “beautifully” and also praised his slide guitar skills before enticing him to do a guitar solo for the coaches who didn’t get to watch the first time around.
His background: His introduction to the guitar was unique. Matt said he was 5 or 6 when he and his sister were playing a game of hide-and-seek and he hid under his parents’ bed. “I saw an electric guitar,” he recalls. “I just fell in love with it.” When he was learning to play guitar, he would listen to albums by the blues greats and eventually met B.B. King. Around 14, he formed a band and started playing clubs in Fort Worth and Dallas. That prompted a move to Nashville after high school. He’s lived there for three years, living in the basement in a place with four roommates.
What the show didn’t show:
According to his bio on The Voice website, Matt’s dad raised him to love country music, but the blues became his real passion.
He actually started playing guitar around age 11, gaining a reputation around town as “the guitar prodigy.” He now teaches guitar lessons.
His band was invited to play at the Thunder Bay Blues Festival in Ontario, Canada in 2012.
He graduated from high school early in order to make that transition to Nashville.
In 2014, he was chosen to represent Nashville in the International Blues Challenge. He made it to the national finals (Top 17), according to his Facebook bio.
He posted a tribute to B.B. King on his YouTube channel, writing: “meeting him was one of the highlights of my life. He was so kind and generous with his time, speaking to me like a grandfather. I gave him a CD with a note inside that said, ‘If you like this please send an autograph to my address.’ B.B leaned over and said that he would be happy to give me one right on the spot. I’ll never forget that lesson. How even a world famous musician should always reserve time for his fans.”
He’s been writing original music for a debut album. You can check out a couple of his originals below.
During a conference call with the media, Matt said he’s gone back and forth between performing solo and performing with bands during his music career. “There’s so much going on in Nashville and I just think it’s kind of fun to dip and dab and get involved in different types of projects,” he said. “Being in several bands and then doing my solo project thing and playing on the street — all these different environments that I’ve been a part of have taught me a lot.”
On iTunes: Just his performance from The Voice
Keeping up with Matt:
Twitter: @mattteddermusic
Facebook
YouTube
“Locking Doors” (an original)
“Down the Road” (an original)
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