Longtime friends and singer-songwriters Jon McLaughlin and Matt Wertz teamed up Thursday night at the M-Shop for a fun filled co-headlined performance. 

With over 30 years of combined touring experience and an established friendship of 16 years, McLaughlin and Wertz crafted an evening that put both artists as equals and their sounds as one.

Scott Mulvahill’s opening solo performance with his upright bass flaunted raw talent. Creating suspense, a groove, something incredibly catchy or even eerie with his bluesy bass playing Mulvahill’s musicianship was a marvel. Mulvahill explained that his choice to write songs with just an upright bass was born out of his desire to be unique to himself. 

He later joined Wertz and McLaughlin on stage to play electric bass.

“It’s great having someone on tour like Scott who really sets the tone,” said McLaughlin later in the evening.

McLaughlin, Wertz and their band took the M-Shop stage together performing an exciting and upbeat combination of each of artist’s material as a singular tune. 

“Did we surprise you?” McLaughlin asks the audience. “We took both of our songs and made a song baby.”

While performing together McLaughlin and Wertz create a seamless musical collaboration that sounds as if they could have been a duo since the beginning of their careers. However Wertz and McLaughlin dedicate a section of their set to perform without the other on stage.

Alone Wertz’s sound is a culmination of 80s pop music, the 90s boy band era, and acoustic coffee shop pop of the 2000s. Wertz even performed a brief rap during one his songs.

“I see a lot of white people in the room so I don’t want to scare you,” Wertz joked before the song.“It’s like Will Smith rapping. It’s a fun rap.” 

McLaughlin showcased his fiery piano and songwriting chops during his time without Wertz on stage. His loud, feisty piano solos caused a vibration in the chest of everyone in the room sparking cheers and applause.

While together Wertz and McLaughlin control the room with stories and humor. The duo brought out smiles and laughter throughout the night whether it was from their on-stage chemistry or their music.

“You can always create the same amount of energy in any given room,” McLaughlin said prior to the show. “There’s a cool energy to a really small intimate space that you just can’t get in a big arena. It’s just not gonna happen.”