Matthew Donald Berninger (, born February 13, 1971) is an American singer-songwriter, primarily known as the frontman and lyricist of

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

band The National. In 2014, he also formed the

EL VY EL VY is an American indie rock duo that consists of Matt Berninger (lead vocalist of The National) and Brent Knopf (founding member of Ramona Falls and Menomena). The duo released their debut album, '' Return to the Moon'', in October 2015. ...

project with Brent Knopf of Ramona Falls and

Menomena Menomena is an indie rock band from Portland, Oregon, United States, made up of Justin Harris and Danny Seim. Both members of the band share singing duties and frequently swap instruments while recording. In concert, Seim plays drums, while Ha ...

and released the album ''

Return to the Moon ''Return to the Moon'' is the debut studio album by American indie rock band EL VY, released on October 30, 2015 on 4AD. A collaboration between Matt Berninger (singer for The National) and Brent Knopf ( Ramona Falls, Menomena), the two musicians ...

'' in November 2015. In May 2020, Berninger shared the title track from his solo debut album, '' Serpentine Prison'', which was released in October 2020. Berninger is known for his classic

baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...

voice.

Personal life

Berninger is a 1989 graduate of St. Xavier High School in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

. He went on to study

graphic design Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art whose activity consists in projecting visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdiscipli ...

at the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,00 ...

, where he met fellow band member

Scott Devendorf Scott Devendorf is an American multi-instrumentalist. He is best known as the bass guitarist for the American indie rock band The National, with whom he has recorded eight studio albums. Devendorf is also a member of the indie rock project LNZND ...

in 1991. The two quickly became friends. Berninger quit a career in advertising in his thirties to start The National. He told The Telegraph: "I was doing well n advertising But, once I entertained the thought that maybe I wouldn't ever have to go and sit in conference rooms with MasterCard to discuss web ads again, I couldn't shake it." Berninger is married to Carin Besser, a one-time fiction editor for ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'', who has often contributed to the band's songwriting ("Brainy" and "Ada" from the album ''

Boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

'') and backup vocals. Together with Hope Hall and Andreas Burgess, Besser also helped direct the music video for " Bloodbuzz Ohio". They have a daughter named Isla. Berninger has stated the song "Afraid of Everyone" was influenced by his anxiety about being a new father. Berninger has two siblings: Tom (who directed '' Mistaken for Strangers'', a film about The National) and Rachel.

In popular culture

upBerninger in 2011 In 2011, a portrait of Berninger was painted by British artist Joe Simpson; the painting was exhibited around the UK including a solo exhibition at

The Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no governm ...

. In 2019, Berninger appeared in '' Between Two Ferns: The Movie''. Along with

Phoebe Bridgers Phoebe Lucille Bridgers (born August 17, 1994) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. She has released two solo albums, ''Stranger in the Alps'' (2017) and ''Punisher'' (2020), both of which received critical acclaim ...

, they contributed the song "Walking on a String" to its soundtrack. In 2020, Berninger was the subject of an episode of the fictional erotic podcast, Dirty Diana, produced by

Demi Moore Demi Gene Moore ( ; née Guynes; born November 11, 1962) is an American actress. After making her film debut in 1981, Moore appeared on the soap opera ''General Hospital'' (1982–1984) and subsequently gained recognition as a member of the Bra ...

Discography

Albums

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Other appearances

Musical theater

Plays

* ''Cyrano'' (2018), with Carin Besser, Aaron Dessner, Bryce Dessner, and Erika Schmidt.

Notes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Berninger, Matt American rock singers American baritones The National (band) members St. Xavier High School (Ohio) alumni 1971 births Living people Musicians from Cincinnati Singers from New York City Musicians from Brooklyn University of Cincinnati alumni 21st-century American singers