Chart-topping Pacific Northwest musician Mat Kearney to play the Bing

A decade since his debut album, Mat Kearney continues to pave his own path, one that will bring him to the Bing Crosby Theater on Monday, June 17.

Kearney was born in 1978 and raised in Eugene. Due to a nurse’s error, his legal name is “Mathew,” the single “T” being something he would learn to embrace. He played soccer through high school and earned a scholarship to California State University, Chico, where he majored in literature.

At Chico, Kearney began playing a roommate’s guitar and attempted to cover songs but struggled, so he began creating his own. He soon discovered his own style, fusing acoustic guitar and spoken word/rap-esque vocals and began playing small shows at coffee shops. This is when he would meet Robert Marvin, a future producer. Kearney was initially helping Marvin move to Nashville, but fell in love with the music town and decided to call Tennessee home.

Kearney would release a couple EPs before his full-length record “Bullet” came in late 2004. His major label debut came in 2006 with “Nothing Left to Lose.” He has since released eight albums, including his most recent self-titled project last month, as well as his most popular, “Young Love,” in 2011. “Young Love” would peak at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 and feature the track “Ships In The Night,” which has since been certified gold.

Kearney has appeared on tracks with artists such as Brad Paisley and Echosmith, won a GMA Dove Award for Rap/Hip-Hop Recorded Song of the Year in 2006 with “Trainwreck,” and his music has been featured in multiple TV shows like “NCIS,” “The Vampire Diaries,” “Bones” and “Grey’s Anatomy.”