The eight-act rock concert slated for Friday night in downtown Aberdeen is the type of event that would normally excite the storytelling tendencies of The Daily World’s music reporter, one that readers of the newspaper would experience vicariously through the visceral writing and transportive photography of Matthew N. Wells.

Wells has attended dozens of similar events this year to interview musicians and shoot photographs, each week exploring the range of talents and personalities behind Grays Harbor’s rising music scene.

On Friday, Dec. 15 he’ll attend the rock show under different circumstances — as the guest of honor.

A group of local musicians decided to collaborate to host a rock show as a display of their appreciation for Wells and his work at The Daily World. The show will run from 6 to 10 p.m. on Friday at Messy Jessy’s Bar and Grill, located at 212 S I St. in Aberdeen. The event is free and open to all ages.

Attendees of Friday’s event not only have a chance to meet and celebrate The Daily World’s music reporter, but can also enter a drawing to win a Yamaha Stratocaster electric guitar, signed by Kurdt Vanderhoof, a founding member of the heavy metal band Metal Church.

The bar, located across from the D and R event center and nearby Boomtown Records store, is one of the venues that propelled the 2023 music scene in Grays Harbor, and especially in downtown Aberdeen, after shifting its focus to live music earlier this year. Another venue, The Loading Dock, located just one block to the north on the corner of Wishkah and I streets, followed a similar trajectory this year.

Christopher Haley and Justin Kautzman, musicians and promoters at those respective venues, conferred with Wil Russoul, a musician and director of the Downtown Aberdeen Association, to organize the concert to honor the journalist.

Russoul said there are now 12 venues in the city’s downtown core that either host live music regularly or are connected to the music scene. He said the city has seen an increase in live music shows and venues since Wells began reporting on music for The Daily World.

“We just haven’t had that before,” Russoul said in an interview. “Having Matthew write about this, detail and talk about different musicians, that’s done a lot.”

He continued, “People are getting this feeling that there’s a lot of good things happening here, and there’s a few things they didn’t know about that they can pass on to other people and not feel like this is a town with nothing going on.”

Russoul said that through his work with the downtown association, he’s noticed people in the broader community outside of the music scene complimenting Wells’ work.

Wells said he was “blown away” when Russoul told him about their plans to host the concert.

“To have a bunch of people get together and say something to the effect of ‘we need to show this guy we appreciate him,’ that’s huge,” Wells said on Monday.

When Wells moved to Aberdeen in November of 2021 to join the small editorial staff of The Daily World as a general assignment reporter, his coverage focused on the city governments of Aberdeen and Hoquiam, as well as feature writing. While he scarcely wrote about music though 2022, and hadn’t covered music events previously in his reporting career, Wells maintained a strong personal passion for listening to music — one derived during his childhood in Illinois from the eclectic tastes of his older brothers, a yellow Sony Walkman and Metallica’s song “Welcome Home (Sanitarium).”

In early 2023 Wells chronicled the controversy over the proposed Kurt Cobain bridge replacement and the plans for the preservation of Nirvana history in downtown Aberdeen. In April, Wells dedicated a column praising those efforts and explaining his own passion for music, writing that he hoped to see more live music around Grays Harbor.

His boss took notice. Michael Wagar, who took over as editor of The Daily World in 2022, assigned Wells to cover the area’s music scene. Wells began producing weekly features on local musicians and attending events nearly every weekend.

“I’m so proud and happy for Matthew,” said Wagar, who has worked in the newspaper industry for 35 years. He said The Daily World’s music coverage will continue, and hopefully expand into the broader arts scene. “It’s not very often — in fact I’ve never heard of it before — where a community comes forward to throw a rock and roll concert for a journalist. Matthew’s earned it. His coverage of the arts community, specifically the music community, in Grays Harbor, has elevated many bands and outlets.”

Haley, whose band A Lien Nation will play on Friday, echoed that sentiment.

“I’ve had friends in the media and press, but I don’t know that I’ve ever had any that I liked enough to do something like this. That’s a good sign,” said Haley.

His company, Redact Records, is working with Messy Jessy’s to develop the venue’s lineup, and is one of the organizer’s of Friday’s event. Haley also hosts the bar’s weekly open mic nights, which Wells featured in a recent edition of The Daily World.

Russoul encouraged the community to “come by and pat Matthew on the back and shake his hand” on Friday. Wells will be off the clock.

“Thanks for allowing me to tell your stories, thanks for allowing me to shove a camera in your face,” Wells said. “Without that sort of access — the ability to put a foot on stage to try to get a nicer angle — I don’t think I’d have the ability to get as nice of shots as I’ve gotten.”

Contact reporter Clayton Franke at 406-552-3917 or clayton.franke@thedailyworld.com.