Groove Tube with Cian O’Connell

Matt Benson is perhaps most widely recognised as a long-time, trombone-wielding member of George Ezra’s band – but over the past decade and a half, the Down native has also performed alongside some of the world’s most illustrious artists – from Brian May and Slash to Bad Manners, Neil Hannon and the Pogues.

Now, scratching a longstanding itch, he is putting himself front and centre. Benson’s debut album, Sit Back Down Again, will arrive in full on July 11. Several songs from the record, including its title track, are already out in the world.

Benson plays the Poppy Lane Sessions in Kinvara on Friday, August 22, beginning a run of gigs in the likes of the Duncairn in Belfast, Whelan’s in Dublin, Dolan’s in Limerick and Connolly’s of Leap in Cork.

Storytelling, both at these live shows and on the recorded album, is at the heart of the project. Benson pictures his listeners sat on a living room couch, following the characters he brings to life in each song.

“There are so many little scenes in this album and I’m really proud of it,” he says.

“As an album as a whole, it makes sense. I feel like a lot of the songs are about sadness and brokenness and loneliness. It’s about the beauty of those things too.

“The struggle that exists in life, but there’s so much beauty and so much to uplift you within those darker corners. That sad, uplifting song – I’m a real sucker for that.

“There are stories about barroom romances. One called The London Lion about two lonely people meeting in a bar, having a chat and ending up having a dance at the end of the night.

“There’s a story called The Last Goodbye about a woman who is fleeing a bad relationship with a man, and she steals his gun and his motorbike and drives away off into the distance.

“There’s another one about my granny and grandad meeting. My grandad was an American soldier and just before World War II, he met my granny, and they fell in love.

Pictured: Matt Benson…debut album and upcoming Kinvara gig.