UNITY — Singer-songwriter Matthew Wolcott is taking the road less travelled, stepping out from a successful law career in favor of his first love, music. He will perform at 7 p.m. Friday, March 3, at Unity College Performing Arts Center, 42 Depot St.

The Dallas native, who began playing piano at an early age and performed with his fair share of bands, released his first EP of original songs called “Western Lights” and is hitting the road in support of it as the title song from the EP is picking up AAA radio airplay nationwide. Wolcott began a string of club shows on March 1 at the Rockwood Music Hall in New York City.

“Western Lights” offers what Wolcott calls “a well-curated sampling of literate, late-night reflections spun into relatable tales of nostalgia, melancholy, heartbreak and hope.” The title track is being serviced to AAA radio and a music video for the song is in the works.

Wolcott grew up in suburban Dallas listening to his father’s collection of ’60s and ’70s vinyl that included the requisite Beatles, Beach Boys and early Chicago. His father told him about once seeing Chicago in concert in a venue that was so hot that trombonist James Pankow sweated through his clothes and played the final song shirtless. Although young Wolcott had been playing piano since the age of six, that image inspired him to take up trumpet as well.

“Music then became an inward-facing pursuit,” explains Wolcott. “I finally returned to writing and playing music behind closed doors, trying to unearth the sound and style that were truly my own. Being completely away from the music scene for a couple of years helped me to reach a point at which I was finally comfortable in my own skin as a songwriter.”

Tickets cost $15, for tickets or more information, call 509-7132 or visit uccpa.unity.edu.

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