You Oughta Know In Concert: Matt Nathanson Is On The Lookout For The Girl In The “Kinks Shirt”

By Mark Graham

November 21, 2013 / 9:00 PM

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We've said it before, and we'll say it again. Matt Nathanson was the MVP of the first ever You Oughta Know In Concert special, as he and his band played in eight, count 'em, 8 songs for the adoring audience. Nathanson is the longest-tenured You Oughta Know artist of anyone on tonight's bill, and he proved to be the most versatile of the bunch, too, performing 4 songs of original material, leading the way on three dynamic covers, and singing along to the all-star jam of "Ho Hey" led by The Lumineers.

You Oughta Know In Concert

You Oughta Know In Concert - Lorde

You Oughta Know In Concert - Emeli Sande

You Oughta Know In Concert - JOHNNYSWIM

You Oughta Know In Concert - The Lumineers

You Oughta Know In Concert

You Oughta Know In Concert - Jim Shearer

You Oughta Know In Concert - Emeli Sande

You Oughta Know In Concert - Matt Nathanson

You Oughta Know In Concert - Lorde

You Oughta Know In Concert - HAIM

[Photo Credit: Lauren Weissler/VH1]

You Oughta Know In Concert - HAIM

[Photo Credit: Lauren Weissler/VH1]

You Oughta Know In Concert - HAIM

[Photo Credit: Lauren Weissler/VH1]

You Oughta Know In Concert - JOHNNYSWIM

You Oughta Know In Concert - JOHNNYSWIM + Mat Kearney

You Oughta Know In Concert - Matt Nathanson + Delta Rae

You Oughta Know In Concert - The Lumineers

It's no secret that the music business is one of the more fickle industries one can choose to enter into, one filled with tremendous competition. As an artist, the only way you're able to earn your keep is by developing and subsequently nurturing a core and loyal audience, something that Matt Nathanson is certainly able to lay claim to. Nathanson is 20 years deep into his career at this point—he released his first album, Please, waaaaaay back in 1993—and one simply cannot last that long without some serious creative chops. Nathanson's latest catchy single, "Kinks Shirt," is evidence that he's still got a tremendous relationship with his muse, and its just one of a bunch of great tracks that make up his latest LP, Last Of The Great Pretenders.

VH1 selected Nathanson as a You Oughta Know artist back in 2007 when he dropped Some Mad Hope, the album that contained "Come On Get Higher," his most popular track to date. Six years later, we're just as enthused about his career as we were then.

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[Photo Credit: Lauren Weissler/VH1]