The Round Table

Start your Friday off right with a free download of Matt Morris’ acoustic set thanks to Daytrotter.com. Recorded back in March at South by Southwest, this set just happens to include acoustic renditions of three of my favorite tracks, “Love,” “The Un-American,” and “Live Forever,” from Mr. Morris’ debut album, When Everything Breaks Open.

Be sure to read Daytrotter’s recap of the recording session, which details their dealings with temperamental analog equipment. Short of it is, after fighting with the equipment for hours they opted to scrap the speaker system and let Mr. Morris have it “au natural.” The result are these stunning recordings — if you weren’t in love with Matt Morris already (shame on you!) you will be after hearing these.

Past Matt Morris Coverage:

Music Video: Matt Morris “Live Forever”

Music Video: Matt Morris Performs “Live Forever” Acoustic

Matt Morris “Bloodlines” Featuring Justin Timerlake

Matt Morris is back with his latest music video for “Live Forever,” an exquisite song about love that endures even as the world around you crumbles down. The video was directed by Matt Stawski and features stunning animation from Serge Gay Jr. Sort of has a Edward Scissorhands meets Avatar meets American Beauty vibe to it. It’s well worth a watch, and yes, we’ll even pardon Mr. Morris for sneaking in a product placement for Beats by Dre. At this point, it’s probably easier to count videos the headphones don’t appear in.

Watch the video after the jump and check out more coverage at Matt Morris.

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Esmée Denters is the next up-and-coming artist who’s stock’s about to soar thanks to Justin Timberlake’s involvement. Mr. Timberlake signed the Dutch songstress to his newly minted Tennman Records after he saw her captivating viewers on YouTube with cover songs of mainstream artists, including his own songs.

Clearly he has personal stock in seeing Ms. Denters career take off, so what better way to introduce her to the world than being featuring on her breakout single “Love Dealer” and co-starring in her video. So will “Love Dealer” take off? Heck yes! This has mainstream/Top 40 radio hit all over it thanks to thumping base, catchy hook and Ms. Denters sugary sweet vocals.  If there’s one thing Mr. Timberlake knows well — it’s how to produce a hook-friendly song that’s genre agnostic and Ms. Denters follows him lock-step on “Love Dealer.” It sure doesn’t hurt to have his name and face attached to it either. The single hits iTunes starting May 4th.

Tennman Records is quickly becoming the IT label of 2010 with the signing of singer-songwriter Matt Morris and the more pop-friendly Esmée Denters. So what else does JT have up his sleeve? You have our attention, Sir! Watch “Love Dealer” below.

Back in January, singer-songwriter Matt Morris captivated hearts during his prime-time television debut when he performed chilling rendition of “Hallelujah” with childhood friend Justin Timberlake at the Hope for Haiti telethon. Since then, I’ve made it a point to watch Mr. Morris’ career closely, which included purchasing his debut album When Everything Breaks Open.

Needless to say, I’m hooked. Do not sleep on this man! He’s a true artist, a modern day poet who pens imaginative, thought-provoking lyrics that can be easily to overlooked simply by the beauty and flawlessness of his voice. Check out Matt Morris performing “Live Forever” acoustic for iheartradio below. Let us know what you think about this incredible artist!

Past Matt Morris Coverage:

New Video: Matt Morris “Bloodline” Featuring Justin Timberlake

Matt Morris Performs “Un-American” and “Love” Unplugged

In the past, I’ve referred to singer-songwriter Tony Lucca as one of the hardest working musicians in the game. A perpetual touring artist, he has entertained crowds across the U.S. for well over 12 years. And truth be told, there is no artist other than Mr. Lucca that I’ve personally crossed state lines to see perform. Yeah, he’s that good.

Armed with his acoustic guitar (and sometimes electric!), heartfelt, beautifully crafted lyrics and a soulful voice, Mr. Lucca’s sound is instantly identifiable, yet uniquely his own.

Recently, Mr. Lucca took time out of his busy touring schedule to chat with us about his musical stylings, lyrical inspirations, the need to go electric and, of course, road fun with his ex-tourmate, Sara Bareilles. Read the full interview below. Keep your eye out for his next record, which hits this summer (details TBD). Be sure to check this man out when he’s in your neck of the woods – you will not regret it – tour dates.

TRT: Over the years your music has incorporated different genres and styles but at the core of all these songs are very real, poignant lyrics, where do you get your inspiration from?

TL: Traveling. Seeing what stays consistent in an ever-changing environment. Those are the things that most people identify with. That’s where specifics become universal.

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We gave Matt Morris some love last week when we posted a live performance of “Bloodline,” which appears on his recently released debut album When Everything Breaks Open. Last week, you may have also caught Matt on the “Hope for Haiti Now” telethon, where he and Justin Timberlake wowed crowds with their rendition of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.”

To say Matt’s rising up the star-rank quickly would be a drastic understatement. He recently stopped by MTV to perform two songs off the new album: “Un-American” and “Love.” I was pretty stoked to see this performance unplugged as “Un-American” is currently one of my favorite songs from the album. Watch both performances after the cut.

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Matt Morris is the latest Mickey Mouse Club alum to hit the mainstream circuit, thanks in part to his childhood friend and MMC co-star, Justin Timberlake, who signed Morris to his label Tennman Records. Recently, Morris released his debut album When Everything Breaks Open and is quickly gaining attention as he performed on The Ellen Degeneres Show and during last night’s Hope for Haiti Now telethon.

While it clearly helps to have Justin Timberlake in your corner, singer-songwriter Matt Morris’ talent is not to be taken lightly. Although you may not have realized it, you’re (probably) pretty familiar with the singer’s work already as he’s penned songs for Christina Aguilera, Kelly Clarkson, country legend Reba McEntire, and of course, Timberlake.

I haven’t finished giving When Everything Breaks Open a proper listen to post thoughts (yet), so in the meantime, enjoy him performing “Bloodline” live with Timberlake after the cut.

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