Matthew Donald Berninger (, born February 13, 1971) is an American singer-songwriter, primarily known as the frontman and lyricist of

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

band The National. In 2014, he also formed the EL VY project with Brent Knopf of Ramona Falls and Menomena and released the album '' Return to the Moon'' in November 2015. In May 2020, Berninger shared the title track from his solo debut album, ''

Serpentine Prison ''Serpentine Prison'' is the debut solo studio album by Matt Berninger, lead singer and co-songwriter of The National (band), The National, released on October 16, 2020. It was produced by Booker T. Jones and released on Book’s Records, a new im ...

'', which was released in October 2020. Berninger is known for his classic baritone voice.

Personal life

Berninger is a 1989 graduate of St. Xavier High School in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state lin ...

. He went on to study graphic design at the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,00 ...

, where he met fellow band member Scott Devendorf in 1991. The two quickly became friends. Berninger quit a career in advertising in his thirties to start The National. He told The Telegraph: "I was doing well

n advertising N, or n, is the fourteenth Letter (alphabet), letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is English alphabet# ...

But, once I entertained the thought that maybe I wouldn't ever have to go and sit in conference rooms with MasterCard to discuss web ads again, I couldn't shake it." Berninger is married to Carin Besser, a one-time fiction editor for ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issue ...

'', who has often contributed to the band's songwriting ("Brainy" and "Ada" from the album '' Boxer'') and backup vocals. Together with Hope Hall and Andreas Burgess, Besser also helped direct the music video for "

Bloodbuzz Ohio "Bloodbuzz Ohio" is a single by indie rock band The National, from their fifth studio album, ''High Violet''. It is notable for Matt Berninger's baritone vocals. It was made available for download on the band's website on March 24, 2010. The son ...

". They have a daughter named Isla. Berninger has stated the song "Afraid of Everyone" was influenced by his anxiety about being a new father. Berninger has two siblings: Tom (who directed '' Mistaken for Strangers'', a film about The National) and Rachel.

In popular culture

upBerninger in 2011 In 2011, a portrait of Berninger was painted by British artist Joe Simpson; the painting was exhibited around the UK including a solo exhibition at The Royal Albert Hall. In 2019, Berninger appeared in '' Between Two Ferns: The Movie''. Along with Phoebe Bridgers, they contributed the song "Walking on a String" to its soundtrack. In 2020, Berninger was the subject of an episode of the fictional erotic podcast, Dirty Diana, produced by Demi Moore.

Discography

Albums

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Other appearances

Musical theater

Plays

* ''Cyrano'' (2018), with Carin Besser, Aaron Dessner, Bryce Dessner, and Erika Schmidt.

Notes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Berninger, Matt American rock singers American baritones The National (band) members St. Xavier High School (Ohio) alumni 1971 births Living people Musicians from Cincinnati Singers from New York City Musicians from Brooklyn University of Cincinnati alumni 21st-century American singers