The Student Activities Office hosts musican, song-writer and music producer Matt Beilis.
It’s the day before Valentine’s Day. What better way to kick it off than being serenaded by singer, songwriter and music producer Matt Beilis? With the lights low and candles flickering on the tables, the lively and upbeat Beilis wooed the crowd with his keyboard. He combined a set of original and cover songs to set the mood.
“It was an incredible show. I really loved his music and the way he showed emotions through his music. It was beautiful,” UMPI student Evan Zarkadas said.
While the musician sang his own originals and cover music such as “Free Fallin’ by Tom Petty and “Billie Jean” by Michael Jackson, the crowd members had the pleasure of enjoying milkshakes as they sat in the candlelight.
Beilis is a singer, songwriter and music producer who lives in New Jersey. He flew into Bangor and drove the remaining way to UMPI. “I do a lot of commercial music production and stuff like that,” Beilis said. “I’ve done commercials for Honda, Skype, Mastercard, Taco Bell.”
Beilis said that he started playing piano when he was just 3.5 years old. “I’ve always played. I was classically trained, but I always kind of wrote my own music and stuff like that on the side. And I would always get yelled at for straying off. ‘You can do that after you practice.’ But I always loved to write and then I kind of just started adding lyrics and melody to it later on,” Beilis said.
Beilis has been touring colleges and performing arts theaters for the last six years. But only in the last three years has he begun to pursue his music full time. He’s toured nationally and overseas. This summer and fall, he plans to perform in Germany in front of 10,000 people when he opens for a popular band.
Beilis was the perfect way to set the mood at UMPI for the day before Valentine’s Day. He gave students and community members alike a great reason to come out and enjoy a night of good music and milkshakes.
