Matt O'Ree (born 26 February 1972) is an American blues-rock guitarist, singer, and songwriter born and raised in

Holmdel, New Jersey Holmdel Township (usually shortened to Holmdel) is a township in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. The township is centrally located in the Raritan Valley region, being within the regional and cultural influence of the Raritan Baysh ...

with his wife, Eryn Shewell-O'Ree. O'Ree is best known as the founder and front man for the Matt O'Ree Band which he formed in 1994. In 2015, Matt joined

Bon Jovi Bon Jovi is an American Rock music, rock band formed in 1983 in Sayreville, New Jersey. It consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarist Phil X, and bassist Hugh McDonald (American musician), Hugh McD ...

as their touring rhythm guitar player next to

Phil X Theofilos Xenidis (born March 10, 1966), better known as Phil X, is a Canadian musician, singer and songwriter. Since 2013, he has played lead guitar with Bon Jovi and officially replaced former lead guitarist Richie Sambora in 2016. Career Early ...

. He joined just before the Bon Jovi Live! tour which began on September 11, 2015, in

Jakarta Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...

, Indonesia at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium and continued throughout Asia with the final show on October 3, 2015 in Tel Aviv, Israel at

Yarkon Park Yarkon Park ( he, פארק הירקון, ''Park HaYarkon'') is a large park in Tel Aviv, Israel, with about sixteen million visits annually. Named after the Yarkon River which flows through it, the park includes extensive lawns, sports faciliti ...

. This tour was in support of Bon Jovi's 2015 album Burning Bridges.

Early life

At a young age, O'Ree was influenced by artists such as

Albert King Albert Nelson (April 25, 1923 – December 21, 1992), known by his stage name Albert King, was an American guitarist and singer who is often regarded as one of the greatest and most influential blues guitarists of all time. He is perhaps b ...

Howlin' Wolf Chester Arthur Burnett (June 10, 1910January 10, 1976), better known by his stage name Howlin' Wolf, was an American blues singer and guitarist. He is regarded as one of the most influential blues musicians of all time. Over a four-decade care ...

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

and

Stevie Ray Vaughan Stephen Ray Vaughan (October 3, 1954 – August 27, 1990) was an American musician, best known as the guitarist and frontman of the blues rock trio Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble. Although his mainstream career spanned only seven years, ...

. At age 13, he picked up his first guitar and began learning to play. A couple of years later, at the age of 15, he began to play in various bands. After graduating high school, he went on as a music major in college. During this time, he also worked as an intern at a recording studio and instructed other students on how to play guitar.

Early career

In 1994, O'Ree formed the Matt O'Ree Band. He attributes much of his success to his day job as a music teacher and the connections it made him. In 1997, he began writing and recording material that evolved into his debut album, ''88 Miles'' which was released in 1998. This led to opening shows for national recording artists such as Foreigner, Kansas, The Original Blue Brothers Band, Buddy Guy, Leslie West and Mountain, Blues Traveler, The Outlaws, Marshall Tucker, Gov't Mule, Robin Trower, Blue Oyster Cult, Johnny Winter, Edgar Winter, Dickie Belts, Dick Dale, Gretchen Wilson, The Screamin' Cheetah Wheelies, Bernand Allison, Chris Duarte, Indigenous, Robby Kreiger, Gary Hoey, Walter Trout, Labambas Big Band, and Smokin' Joe Kubek. In 2001, the second album, ''Chalk It Up'', was released. In 2005, O'Ree released his third studio album titled ''Shelf Life'', which was featured in an issue of "Guitar World Magazine". ''Shelf Life'' also won four Asbury Park Music Awards for: Best Blues Band, Best Guitarist, Best Local Release, and Best Song of the Year - "Saints & Sinners." On June 8, 2006, O'Ree was named the Grand Prize Winner of the Guitarmageddon: "King of the Blues" guitar contest which was hosted by BB King and John Mayer through Guitar Center and Guitar World Magazine. He won after competing against 4,000 other guitar players. His prizes included multiple guitars and an endorsement from Gibson guitars, shopping sprees with Guitar Center and a car from Scion.

The Matt O'Ree Band

He formed the Matt O'Ree band in 1994 as a three piece band with a line up of guitar, bass, and drums, performing primarily blues based covers and originals. In 2008, the Matt O’Ree Band went from being a three piece band to a four piece band, adding keyboardist Eric Safka to the mix. With the new band line-up, they developed a new sound and a different direction in song writing. Thereafter, O'Ree and his band began touring nationally and internationally. Many trips which were taken in their homemade tour bus they call "Big Jenna" which has a song written about it called "Big Jenna" on his live album. < In 2014, The Matt O'Ree band played on the Light of Day Foundations main stage at The Paramount Theater before Joe Grushecky and Bruce Springsteen, adding in a bit of "Smoke On The Water" to their set. On October 30, 2015, The Matt O'Ree Band performed a homecoming show for O'Ree's return from his tour with Bon Jovi, at

The Stone Pony The Stone Pony is a New Jersey music venue in Asbury Park, New Jersey known for launching the careers of many New Jersey music legends, including Bruce Springsteen, Jon Bon Jovi, and Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes.Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...

, on guest vocals and guitar, and is to be released in 2016.

Matt Ree band members

* Guitar/Vocals - Matt O'Ree * Drums - John Hummel * Bass - Scott Bennert * Hammond B3 - Eric Safka * Backing Vocals -

Eryn Shewell Eryn Shewell (born June 26, 1984) is an American jazz and blues guitarist and vocalist from Jackson, New Jersey, United States. Early life Eryn Shewell was born on June 26, 1984 in Washington, D.C. In 1989 Shewell's parents divorced and ...

* Backing Vocals - Layonne Holmes

Bon Jovi

In 2013 O'Ree met

David Bryan David Bryan Rashbaum (born February 7, 1962) is an American musician and songwriter, best known as the keyboard player for the rock band Bon Jovi, with which he also co-wrote songs and performed backing vocals. In 2018, Bryan was inducted into ...

of the band

at a local venue called Jamians, located in Red Bank, New Jersey. Bryan then performed a song with The Matt O'Ree band, forming a long time friendship. David Bryan has since helped O'Ree with his career by introducing him to

Jon Bon Jovi John Francis Bongiovi Jr. (born March 2, 1962), known professionally as Jon Bon Jovi, is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actor. He is best known as the founder and frontman of the rock band Bon Jovi, which was formed in 1983. He ...

and getting him an audition to be the guitarist in the Bon Jovi band. They have also co-written some songs; one of which is "My Everything is You". This song was also produced by Bryan for O'Ree's next album. September 2015 saw O'Ree leave as the guitarist for the Bon Jovi Live! tour with Bon Jovi and play throughout South East Asia for 3 weeks, performing on September 11 in Jakarta, Indonesia to 45,000 people to start the tour. On November 11, 2015, Matt O'Ree and David Bryan performed on stage with blues legend

Buddy Guy George "Buddy" Guy (born July 30, 1936) is an American blues guitarist and singer. He is an exponent of Chicago blues who has influenced generations of guitarists including Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Stevie Ray V ...

at blues club B.B. Kings in New York City. He shared the stage that evening with Buddy Guy,

Earl Slick Earl Slick (born Frank Madeloni in Brooklyn, New York, October 1, 1952) is a guitarist best known for his collaborations with David Bowie, John Lennon, Yoko Ono and Robert Smith. He has also worked with other artists including John Waite, Tim ...

, Evan Stanley (

Paul Stanley Paul Stanley (born Stanley Bert Eisen; January 20, 1952) is an American musician who is the co-founder, frontman, rhythm guitarist and co-lead vocalist of the hard rock band Kiss. He is the writer or co-writer of many of the band's most popular ...

's son), and backing singer

. On September 11, 2016, O'Ree was inducted into the NY/NJ Blues Hall of Fame.

Equipment

He uses Trainwreck amplifiers and in 2011 recorded a promotional video for the company.

Discography

* ''88 Miles'' - 1998 * ''Chalk It Up'' - 2001 * ''Shelf Life'' - 2005 * ''Live'' - 2008 * Appears on: ''A Christmas to Cure Cancer'' - 2010 * ''Live in Denver, Co'' - 2013 * ''Brotherhood'' - 2016

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:ORee Matt Living people 1972 births Singers from New Jersey People from Holmdel Township, New Jersey Jon Bon Jovi 21st-century American singers