Celebrity chef Matty Matheson never fails to have some serious surprises up his sleeve — and the latest, an announcement that his newly-formed band will soon be playing their first gig in Toronto, is perhaps the most surprising yet.
From winning a Golden Globe for his role in The Bear to keeping Toronto’s restaurant scene buzzing with new, tasty go-tos, Matty Matheson is certainly a busy guy, and it doesn’t look like he’ll be slowing down any time soon.
The past six months have already brought his latest Toronto restaurant, Bar Clams and a new cookbook, “Soups, Salads, Sandwiches,” to the fore, but his latest exploit caters more toward the soul than the stomach: he’s making music.
A huge personality both in and outside the kitchen, Matheson took to his Instagram account to announce the official formation of Pig Pen, a hardcore outfit featuring Alexisonfire’s Wade MacNeil, Daniel Romano, Ian SKI Romano and Tommy Major.
Matty, perhaps unsurprisingly, will be on vocals.
While the rest of his band, three of whom already play together in Daniel Romano’s Outfit, have certainly got things covered when it comes to experience, this isn’t Matty’s first rodeo either.
He was previously the frontman of his former band, Sex Tears, who regularly played gigs across the city, including, perhaps most memorably, at his now-closed but always iconic restaurant-bar, Parts & Labour. Talk about a multi-faceted talent!
If music be the fruit of love, as Shakespeare once wrote, Matty’s making fruit salad, and it all starts with a gig at none other than Sneaky Dee’s.
Pig Pen will put on their debut performance at an installment of Not Dead Yet — the group’s 800th, to be exact! — on Friday, April 25, alongside fellow local acts Best Wishes and Pluto’s Kiss.
If you’re hoping to score tickets this time around, you’re unfortunately going to have to check your expectations: the show, undoubtedly aided by some serious star power, sold out within an hour, but you can still score a spot on the waitlist.
In any event, this surely won’t be the last you hear of Pig Pen, so keep an eye peeled for where they’ll rock out next.
