MATI (Music at the Intersection) Festival and Conference returns for its fifth year with a diverse, roots-inspired and decades-spanning artist lineup. MATI 2025 will take place September 12 – September 14th in Grand Center. Headliners include 3x Grammy winning rapper Common with superproducer Pete Rock, soul music icon Patti LaBelle, New Orleans R&B singer-songwriter Lucky Daye, neo-soul R&B singer-producer Leon Thomas, legendary hip-hop group De La Soul, and jazz great Branford Marsalis.
With a special focus on “St. Louis Made,” MATI pays homage to the city’s imprint on the American songbook, as well as the relationship St. Louis has with its Mississippi River roots. The festival aims to celebrate musical heritage, from the West African coasts to the Caribbean islands, up through the Mississippi Delta. MATI honors the giants who shaped genre and sound – across blues, jazz, soul, R&B, hip-hop and rock n’ roll – as it also calls up and gives platform to a new wave of artists.
“This isn’t just another music festival. MATI is by St. Louis, for St. Louis,” said Chris Hansen, executive director of Kranzberg Arts Foundation. “If you’ve been to MATI, you can feel that it’s special. It’s a microcosm of the city: all ages, races, ethnicities. No neighborhood divides. People who can afford tickets and people who can’t. All joyous. All together in the streets of Grand Center.”
A majority of the lineup has direct ties to the St. Louis area. R&B artist Ryan Trey spent time growing up in St. Louis, East St. Louis and University City. Trey opened for St. Louis born SZA at the Ready Room in 2017; he’s also performed and collaborated with MATI alum Jordan Ward. Marcus Baylor, of the husband-wife jazz duo The Baylor Project, is from St. Louis. Drummer Weedie Braimah was born in Ghana but raised in East St. Louis. Trumpeter (and MATI Artist-in-Residence) Keyon Harrold is from Ferguson.
Additional national acts are tied to St. Louis by musical genre. The influence of St. Louis-born or raised artists – like Chuck Berry, Tina Turner and Miles Davis – have had a lasting impact on the sounds of today. R&B rising star Leon Thomas, Pakistani-American singer Arooj Aftab, and jazz veteran Branford Marsalis all credit East St. Louis’ own icon Miles Davis as an influence.
Harrold, a 4x festival alumnus, will serve as MATI Artist-in-Residence. He won a Grammy award for the soundtrack of the Miles Davis Biopic “Miles Ahead.” Harrold supplied all of the playing for the film that starred Don Cheadle – who also served as the film’s director. The soundtrack to the film won a Grammy Award for “Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media.”
Other artists hail from the Caribbean, Mississippi Delta and sister river cities, from which St. Louis shares music and cultural roots.
Cuban jazz percussionist and singer Pedrito Martinez will perform as MATI Artist-at-Large (meaning he will perform throughout the festival on a variety of other artists’ sets).
“We want to keep MATI a true, representative community experience, and while Kranzberg Arts Foundation, Steward Family Foundation and Regional Arts Commission can continue to take up the mantle, we want everyone to feel ownership,” Hansen said. “That’s what the MATI Movement is about. It’s a way for everyday St. Louisans – who are passionate about music, who love art and culture – to be in this with us. It’s about giving a little bit more to achieve a whole lot more, together.”
Festival passes for MATI (Music at the Intersection) Festival and Conference will be available for purchase starting on Friday, April 18 at 10 a.m. and can be purchased at www.MATIstl.org or directly at www.MetroTix.com (or by phone at 314-534-1111). Weekend passes are $150. Weekend four-packs are also available for $400. A limited number of single-day passes will go on sale in mid-July.
Visit www.MATIstl.org for the full roster of performances as well as related programming.
Living It content is produced with funding by the ARPA for the Arts grants program in partnership with the Regional Arts Commission of St. Louis and the Community Development Administration.
