Matteo Mancuso has announced his first headline national tour of North America. The itinerary brings Mancuso coast to coast in the US, and into Canada for several annual marquee events. The tour begins on May 20 at Boston’s City Winery and wraps on June 30 at Le Festival International de Jazz de Montreal. With the on-sale being staggered, please check local box offices for on-sale details market to market.
Mancuso hails from Sicily, nestled in the Mediterranean Sea to the South of Italy. The island has always had a rich cultural heritage, from poets, writers, philosophers, and architects to painters and musicians. Born in 1996 and raised just outside the capital Palermo, the pedigree runs deep in the veins of those from the region. Had his family relocated to the US, he might be the best-kept secret in the lineage of great Italian-American players like Zappa, Vai, Satriani, Di Meola, Petrucci, and Gambale.
During the 1970s, his father, Vincenzo Mancuso, made a name for himself as a gifted session player on the domestic scene, and the young Matteo looked up to him as a primary source of inspiration. While still in high school (music), he picked up classical guitar and transverse flute. It didn't take long for everyone to understand that a child prodigy was blooming.
At the age of 12, Matteo took his first steps onto the stage at a local jazz festival. Since then, his acquaintance with live performances has seen him blossom and develop through various line-ups and collaborations with the finest local musicians, including a duo with his father, where they explore the complexities of Django Reinhart's repertoire and contemporary jazz classics.
As a multi-faceted player, either classical or electric, what is astounding is his one-of-a-kind technique and use of his fingers instead of regular picking. With an impressive tone, original sound, and humble demeanor, you have the guitarist no one has ever seen and whose talent puts him in a different league. Many of the world's most iconic, ground-breaking, and legendary players are declaring Matteo as a force to be reckoned with, from Joe Bonamassa and Steve Vaito Al Di Meola.
In 2019, Yamaha Guitars became the official endorser of his appearance at the NAMM show in Los Angeles. He was invited as a judge on the panel for the "Young Guitar Festival" in Bangkok and a masterclass tour in Russia – calling through Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Perm. In 2020, Matteo put together a new trio and began developing his solo work, pushing his compositional boundaries and original material. When the pandemic brought the world to a standstill like many, Matteo experienced difficulties as it took a significant toll on the music industry, like many others. In 2021, as soon as live gigs became possible, he hit the road as part of the new trio, culminating in two exhilarating sold-out nights at the Blue Note in Milano. The name Matteo Mancuso was beginning to reach the ears of the most prominent people in the industry and those in the know. Offers came up from the north to the deep south.
In 2022 he played at the Bremen International Festival at the Auditorium Parco Della Musica in Rome. After a short break in June last year to graduate in jazz guitar from the PalermoConservatory of Music with honors and honorable mention, he resumed touring. He shared the stage with Al Di Meola on classical guitar on the closing night of the Eddie Lang Jazz Festival and played at the Lugano Jazz Festival in Switzerland, as a guest with prog-rockers PFM and an incredible performance at the New Ross Guitar Festival in Ireland. He appeared in a major prime-time slot on Italy's national Rai TV, at the Uppsala Jazz Festival in Sweden. Finally, he rounded off the year at the Spoleto Jazz Festival back in Italy.
His debut titled The Journey features nine original songs which were recorded at Fico d'IndiaStudios Casteldaccia, Sicily, by his father, Vincenzo Mancuso – a gifted player who also played on the record and co-wrote two songs, "Polifemo" and "Blues For John." The album also features Stefano India (Bass) and Guiseppe Bruno (Drums), with additional musicians Riccardo Oliva(Bass), Gianluca Pellerito (drums,) and Guiseppe Vasapolli (Piano/Organ).
Mancuso began writing songs for the album around 2020. "I didn't really have a specific concept behind the album, but I wanted to do something that wasn't associated with only one genre, so there are some rock-oriented songs like Drop D and some modern Jazz tunes like Polifemo," he says."Drop D" was one of the first songs written for the album, which pays tribute to his teens' hard rock and prog influences such as Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Yes, Emerson, Lake and Palmer, and Dream Theater. "It is a mix of typical rock and prog elements and one of the most fun songs to play live," he says.
In front of the album’s release, he shared, "I just want people to hear it," he enthuses. "Music has always been my favorite form of communication, and the thing I love about instrumental music is that there isn't a language barrier. I'm sure that people who don't usually listen to instrumental music can find something interesting from this album."
Mancuso has become one of the hottest guitarists on the planet following the release of his debut album in 2023, The Journey, which featured the singles "Samba Party," which channels the excitement and jubilation of Rio de Janeiro during carnival – but the song itself is anything but samba. Also, "Silk Road, which was dedicated to his hometown Palermo and his Arab-Norman roots and was the follow-up to the album's lead single "Drop D,"
The YouTube sensation has already adorned the front cover of magazines such as GuitarTechniques, which called him "The Hottest Guitarist on the Planet ", and Total Guitar, which hailed him as the "World's Hottest Virtuoso." He has picked up plaudits from some of the world's most iconic, ground-breaking players who are declaring Matteo as a force to be reckoned with, from Joe Bonamassa and Steve Vai to Al Di Meola. They share:
"The evolution of guitar is firmly secure in the hands of these kind of players... it's just a new level, the tone, the touch, the notes!" - Steve Vai
"An absolute talent; his improvisational ability is light years ahead. It would take two or three lifetimes. It was like when Jacko (Pastorius) came on the scene...how did he get so good and so fast?" - Al Di Meola
"All the kids are talking about it, and I blanked when answering who my new favorite guitarist is... here he is, Matteo Mancuso. I have not seen anyone reinvent like this since Stanley Jordan" - Joe Bonamassa
For more information, please visit matteomancuso.net.
Confirmed Appearances Include:
- 5/20 Boston, MA City Winery Boston
- 5/21 Brooklyn, NY Brooklyn Bowl
- 5/22 Ardmore, PA The Ardmore Music Hall
- 5/23 Red Bank, NJ The Vogel
- 5/24 Washington, DC The Hamilton Live
- 5/25 Cumberland, MD Allegany County Fairgrounds
- 5/27 Pittsburgh, PA City Winery Pittsburgh
- 5/28 Lansing, MI Grewal Hall at 224
- 5/29 Ferndale, MI The Magic Bag
- 5/31 Cincinnati, OH The Ludlow Garage
- 6/01 Kent, OH The Kent Stage
- 6/02 Indianapolis, IN The Vogue
- 6/04 Minneapolis, MN The Dakota
- 6/05 Milwaukee, WI Vivarium
- 6/06 Chicago, IL Garcia’s
- 6/07 Chicago, IL Garcia’s
- 6/10 Denver, CO Cervantes’ Other Side
- 6/13 Sante Fe, NM The Bridge at Sante Fe Brewing
- 6/14 Phoenix, AZ MIM
- 6/15 Tucson, AZ The Rialto Theatre
- 6/16 Solana Beach, CA Belly Up Tavern
- 6/17 Highland Park, CA Lodge Room
- 6/18 San Juan Capistrano, CA The Coach House
- 6/20 Berkeley, CA The UC Theatre
- 6/22 Portland, OR Aladdin Theater
- 6/23 Seattle, WA Neptune Theatre
- 6/24 Vancouver, BC Rickshaw
- 6/25 Victoria, BC Wicket Hall
- 6/28 Syracuse, NY Syracuse Jazz Fest
- 6/29 Buffalo, NY Electric City
- 6/30 Montreal, QC Le Festival International de Jazz de Montreal
