Name: The Duncairn - Belfast, NIR
Start: 2025-09-19T19:00:00+01:00
Location: The Duncairn

After accumulating a wealth of big stage experience in George Ezra’s live band, Matt Benson’s solo career is now gaining pace following his first singles ‘Sit Back Down Again’, ‘Strangers And Angels’ and ‘The Way It Should Be’. After earning a first flurry of acclaim and a key playlist feature on Spotify’s Jazz UK, he now takes the next step towards his debut album with the new single ‘Broken Masterpiece’. The ‘Sit Back Down Again’ record then follows on July 11th.
While ‘Broken Masterpiece’ exudes the exemplary musicianship and sleek, soulful vocal class that has embodied Matt’sreleases so far, it also takes on a far different ambience. Its haunting, lurching menace feels a little like a cousin to the darkness of Nick Cave’s ‘Henry’s Dream’ album. But Matt’s song comes at that mood from a different angle as he paints a picture that leans into the fantastical world of the creature feature.
Matt says, “‘Broken Masterpiece’ is a groovier, darker, more angry song. The idea is about a supernatural monster: like a fallen angel that was perfect but has become broken. I imagine myself as a little boy climbing up a tree as it’s just getting dark. As I turn to climb back down I notice this creature waiting with dead eyes, and it beckons me with the promise of a reward if I come down. Some people say it’s about the darker parts of your subconscious, but to me it’s a fun song about a monster.”
‘Broken Masterpiece’ was written by Matt, produced by Cian Boylan (Jessie Buckley, David Gray), and mastered by the Grammy Award winner Ruadhri Cushnan (Mumford & Sons, James Bay).
The track is accompanied by a full-band live performance video, which was filmed at Camden Recording Studios in Dublin. Matt leads on vocals and Rhodes, as the song shape-shifts into a heftier stature with its foreboding atmosphere pushed to the max. Showcasing the power of Matt’s future live shows, the performance features Cian Boylan (piano), Conor Brady (guitar,The Commitments), Dave Redmond (acoustic bass, Dana Masters) and Darren Beckett (drums, Brandon Flowers)
The ‘Sit Back Down Again’ album is available to pre-save HERE. It’s the culmination of Matt’s life spent in music so far: from growing up around a music store in Belfast during the latter years of The Troubles, to touring extensively with George Ezra, Sam and The Womp and Bad Manners, and now striking out on his own.
That said, Matt’s album is a world away from what you might expect given his story, with echoes of Tom Waits, Randy Newman and Dr. John shaped by a surfeit of New Orleans style. Its stories blur the line between rich, cinematic fiction and the authenticity that comes with having lived through many of the narratives that he explores.