Matt Lang, Québec’s “King Of Country,” Launches His Album at MTelus [Photos]

It’s good to be The King. Québec’s King of Country, Matt Lang, kicked off a Summer-long party at the MTelus in Montreal on May 9th. It was the first show of a tour that will see him play all over Québec in the following months and was also a launch party for his brand new album, All Night Longer, which was released the next day. The show sold out shortly after being announced, and cowboy hats littered the entire building as more than 2,000 fans packed the MTelus in their finest attire to pay homage to Matt Lang.

Country music has become a big hit in La Belle Province over the last several years. Québec has several Country music festivals lined-up every summer, with the Festival Western St. Tite and Lasso Montréal, where Matt Lang will also be performing in August, among the biggest Country events in North America. Through this resurgence, Montréal has earned the nickname of Nashville North and leading this wave of renewed popularity has been Matt Lang.

All Night Longer is the third album for Matt Lang, and his production team, headed by Vickye Morin and Joelle Proulx of Agence Ranch, pulled out all the stops to make the evening into a party none would forget. Picture booths, exclusive merchandise, wristband lights and even a beer pong tournament where the winner would get a trip to Nashville could be found all over the floor. Up on the stage, the fireworks were in abundance, and an unlimited number of high fives were shared as Matt Lang performed and shared the moment with his loyal subjects, only to be happy to grab a cell phone or 10 for some quick selfies with the fans.

All of the songs from All Night Longer were played, with the previously released singles “All Night Longer” and “Sweet On You” getting the sing-a-long treatment from the crowd. A killer medley of songs he remembered hearing with his grandfather and other Country songs that impacted him went over well with the crowd, which also exploded to life when the band broke into Matt Lang’s breakout song from 2019, “Love Me Some Of You.” Etienne Joly, Matt Lang’s lead guitarist and stage-right hand man, who also has performed with several other of Québec’s crop of Country artists, was on fire. I’ve seen them perform several times, and this duo could one day be spoken of in the same rarified air as other famous singer/guitarist combos.

There’s no party like a Matt Lang party. This was the fourth time I have been able to cover one of his shows, and it’s impossible not to get caught up in the moment. In fact, the only person probably having more fun than the crowd is Matt Lang himself. He has shows lined up all over Québec from now, through to Christmas Eve, several of them have already sold out. Be sure and grab what remaining tickets you can find and not miss the show.

Matt Lang @ MTelus (Montreal, QC) on May 9, 2024

42 photos