Popular singers often have humble beginnings. Matt Maher’s journey, though, might be one of the most unique “humble beginnings” of them all.
A nine-time Grammy nominee and six-time Dove Award winner, Maher, 48, began his career as a Christian singer by playing piano in a hotel. At the time, Maher was a college student.
“I got accepted to music school,” Maher explained to Christian Headlines. “My dad struggled with anxiety and depression, so he struggled with unemployment. My mother was a teacher.
“And I was a very solid C student,” he added, laughing. “But I got a scholarship playing music. And a guy heard me play piano and said, ‘You should call this guy [at a local hotel].'”
Maher paid for his first three years of college by playing piano in a hotel in Newfoundland, where he went to school.
“I got a job playing afternoons in the lounge and evenings in the lobby,” Maher said.
Occasionally, Maher even encountered big-named artists.
“One day, I’m sitting there playing the piano. And there’s this guy sitting there. And he tipped me. And then he gets up. And the bartender comes over and says, ‘Are you ready for your check, Mr. Miller?'”
It was Steve Miller (of the Steve Miller Band), an eventual inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
“The Steve Miller Band was playing in my hometown,” Maher said. “And then later that night, I sang All of Me – the jazz standard – with members of the band Extreme.
“… It was a fun time,” he said. “I’m very grateful that I was able to pay for my education.”
Maher is known for such songs as Lord, I Need You, Because He Lives (Amen), Christ Is Risen, All The People Said Amen, Your Grace Is Enough and Alive & Breathing. He has written songs for Crowder, Hillsong, Casting Crowns, Chris Tomlin and We Are Messengers, among others.
He recently recorded a song and music video, The In Between, inspired by The Chosen.
Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/Jamie McCarthy/Staff
Video courtesy: ©Matt Maher Music
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.