Matthew Shadley Band

The Matthew Shadley Band was formed in 2003 by Matthew Shadley Brauer. An established multi-instrumentalist in several Cincinnati-area bands, Matt joined fellow guitarist and former college bandmate Jason Scherrer with a temporary rhythm section and the makeshift band made its debut in October of 2003, playing an acoustic set at the 5th Annual Harvest Moon Festival held at the historic Southgate House in Newport, Kentucky.

Brauer and Scherrer added a more permanent rhythm section and switched to an electric presentation with Brauer on lead guitar and lead vocals. With Chuck Morgan on drums, Jason Peter on keyboards, and Tom Legg on bass, the band evolved from folk-rock to a more melodic, electric guitar-driven, alt-rock sound. The band drew comparisons to music as wide-ranging as the Beatles, Buffalo Springfield, the Jayhawks, the Black Crowes, Traffic, the Mother Hips, and the Wallflowers.

After the 2004 release of Five Easy Pieces, the band maintained a busy schedule headlining venues and playing regionally through 2006 with Steve Tertel replacing Tom Legg on bass. The band recorded Underneath the Red Light, a live album at the House of Blues Madison Theatre in January 2005. They earned a reputation as “Cincinnati’s live show specialists” (Jan Perry – the Cincinnati Post) and continued to reach a growing audience through broadcast and internet radio while playing larger venues and showcases, including the Midpoint Music Festival, the Roots and Rock Festival, 80's Pop Rocks, and the Festivus Maximus Festival. 

The band slowed down its live schedule and continued working in the studio through 2006 with Brauer handling bass duties following Tertel’s departure. The band went on hiatus later that year, while Brauer joined local rockers the Trojan Rabbit. He returned to the studio with additional material and completed the full-length album Summer Stone in 2008.

After a long hiatus, Brauer returned to the studio in 2020 during the nationwide COVID-19 quarantine, writing and recording new music as part of the Quarantune Project with other Cincinnati-based musicians. In 2021 he released the single "Oh, Karen," which was written during those sessions. The work has since continued with the skills of notable session musicians (Kenny Aronoff, Norm Garschke, Luke Oswald, Stefan Olofsson) and former bandmates (Jason Peter, Anthony Rich, Chris Rowell), as well as two of Matt's daughters (Maggie and Lorelei). From his studio on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, Brauer has put together an ambitious project under the moniker of the Matthew Shadley Band. The new album, Emerald, features nine original songs and one cover song.  It is the first full-length release since 2008.

With an ever-present 1970s classic rock vibe, the songs contain recurring themes of fantasy vs reality, the "Emerald Triangle" and Brauer’s unique observations of human nature. While it is a more ambitious project, it remains consistent with the band’s previous releases. The music has drawn comparisons to bands as wide-ranging as  the Black Crowes, Traffic, and the Mother Hips.

Most of the band's recorded work can be found at www.matthewshadleyband.com and most streaming platforms (Spotify, Apple Music, i-Tunes, Deezer, Pandora, and YouTube...just to name a few).