The Monarch Music and Arts Community

Jason Eady is a master songwriter, uniquely gifted guitar player and fine storyteller. It's always a great show and great crowd. The Monarch venue was a real treat. Intimate, great sound, perfect lighting and run by the most gracious team of community builders. The crowd was engaged and quite, a perfect setting for an acoustic set. A+ evening and worth the drive from Lex to Lou!

10/10, he was an amazing storyteller and every song sound the same (if not better) as the recorded versions. Can’t wait to go to another show

Great show! The sax player slayed!

I'm a Monarch member, so keep that in mind when reading this. I think the Monarch MAC is a great idea and an enjoyable place to watch and listen to music. That said, I wish they could scale up a little more. The front room barely holds 50 people, and the upper back room holds another ~20 or so. So, you might have 75 people watching a performer/band. Some performers might like that, but I'm sure many others would love to have 100+ watching. In any case, it's a homey environment, very intimate (see comments above), and very welcoming. The 2 acts performing on 10/3/24 were Rye Valley (band) and Clem Snide (formerly a band, now a solo act featuring Ifar "Eef" Barzelay - the former band leader). Rye Valley were pretty good, for a new act. The songs are good, and I imagine as they mature as an act they will get much better. Highlights included "NASCAR Dad," among a few others. The coolest thing about Rye Valley is they feature a pedal steel player, which is just SO COOL, it's hard to express! That gentleman also backed up Clem Snide on several tracks, which was very nice, indeed! Clem (or Eef, actually) was a fun act and has been around for 25+ years, so his songs, while lyrically spare, are a little more expressive emotionally and convey some deeper meanings. Highlights included "Stayin' Alive" (yes, THAT Stayin' Alive!), and many others. If there was one downside to the evening, it was that the AC had gone out (unfortunately), so it got pretty warm in the place, with 60+ people converged in a small area. The Monarch MAC is BYOB, so if you consider going, make sure you have your favorite brew or poison on hand.

AMAZING event. The singer was drunk off his rocker but boy could he hit them notes🙏

Absolutely amazing show at a very cool venue.

The venue is fantastic so intimate and friendly will certainly only thrive going forward! Matthew has a great stage presence and combines with whimsical story telling! Sharing his namesake is an honor and I cannot wait to come back to the Monarch and to see Matthew Fowler play another concert some day!