Matisyahu to perform Sunday

Grammy-nominated reggae and alternative rock musician Matisyahu will stop in Bloomington this weekend as part of his nationwide college tour, performing at 9 p.m. Sunday at the Bluebird Nightclub.

Tickets are $22 and can be purchased at ticketmaster.com.

Matisyahu is headlining the concert tour in support of his most recent album, “Spark Seeker,” which marks a time of major transition for the artist. 

“There’s a certain lightness,” said Matisyahu, whose legal name is Matthew Paul Miller. “There’s a feeling of somebody really connecting with a big realization in their life. In past albums there was the lack, the missing piece, the struggle. This one feels more to me like a rebirth, a redemption, a freedom.”

Matisyahu released the album on his new label Fallen Sparks Records on July 17, according to a press release.

“Spark Seeker” debuted at No. 19 on the Billboard 200 Chart and at No. 1 on the Billboard Reggae Chart. It includes singles “Sunshine” and “Live Like a Warrior.”

Matisyahu gained popularity in the mid-2000s for the stripped-down reggae sound of his first album, “Live at Stubb’s,” as well as for his orthodox Jewish garb of a traditional black suit, black hat and long beard.

In his consecutive albums “Youth” and “Light,” Matisyahu fused his reggae style with beatboxing, hip-hop, and alternative-rock sounds.

Some of his best-known tracks include “Jerusalem” and “One Day.”

As of late last year, Matisyahu has shed his signature beard and decided to distance himself from his Hasidic Jewish ways, a lifestyle change hinted at in the album’s sounds and lyrics.

“I pretty much try to live my life a day at a time,” Matisyahu said. “I don’t try to concern myself with where I fall, I spent a lot of my time doing that.”

He said audiences should expect to hear new and old material, as well as a beat with the band Dub Trio.

“The sound is most similar to the ‘Live at Stubbs II’ album,” Matisyahu said.

He just recently spent the summer months co-headlining with the Dirty Heads and making stops in more than 50 cities, according to a press release.

He decided to headline a college tour because he realized he had been playing in several college towns in past years, Matisyahu said.

“We’ve had a lot of fans who were home for the summer and who are coming back,” he said.

His newest album was produced by Kool Kojak, who has worked with artists such as Ke$ha and Nicki Minaj, according to the press release.

Matisyahu said many of the songs on the album contain music he recorded in Israel. He mixes Middle Eastern instrumentals and chants with futuristic electro-beat sounds.

“The element that you hear on the record that has the more organic flavor is coming from our time spent in Isreal,” Matisyahu said. “We try to combine that sound with a more modern sound.”

Matisyahu said the conflict in the Middle East is an ancient war that must be approached with compassion. Music is his form of expressing this philosophy.

“I think that as human beings, the most divine way to connect with holiness is through peace, through love and through empathy,” Matisyahu said. “Music can play a big role in helping people relate to the human dimension, to the more empathic, compassionate dimension.”