NEW GLASGOW, N.S. – Some say you shouldn’t meet your heroes.
Andrew Watson had no problem doing that.
A huge Matthew Good fan, the 26-year-old travelled from Halifax to see rocker Matthew Good perform last Saturday at the Riverfront Jubilee. It was easy to know that Watson was a fan: he was wearing a Matthew Good t-shirt and a ball cap as he strolled through the Jubilee grounds.
“I grew up in Manitoba and saw him for the first time in 2004 and it changed my life,” said Watson, just a few minutes before Good took the stage.
“The way he presents himself on stage, the way that he is active on social media, just a humble guy. If there was something wrong in my life, it was him I would turn to.”
Watson had entered an on-line contest “What Does Matthew Good Mean To You?” with the winner getting a chance to meet the artist (all four who entered were able to meet with him in person at Glasgow Square on Saturday).
After Good was diagnosed with bipolarity in the mid-2000s, he wrote music for the record
Hospital Music, an album that is close to Watson’s heart.
“I have mental issues as well, so I thought that was an excellent way to connect with him on a more personal level,” Watson said candidly.
Asked if he would have been at the Jubilee had Good not been a part of Friday’s lineup, “probably not” Watson replied. This was Watson’s fifth time seeing Good perform and “It was my dream to meet him,” Watson added.
“I was shaking. I learned on (July 30) that I was going to meet him. I wanted to just thank him and I said, ‘your music has changed and shaped my life for the last 15 years and I wanted to thank you in person’.”
So, no regrets on Watson’s part, after finally meeting a hero?
“No, it was absolutely worth it.”
