Matthew "Matt" Maher is a singer/songwriter/worship leaer originally from Newfoundland, Canada, who later relocated to Mesa, Arizona. He has written and produced 3 independent albums, The End and The Beginning (2001), Welcome to Life (2003), and Overflow (2006). All three albums were produced by Maher, with Welcome to Life and Overflow both being co-produced by Maher and Nashville engineer Jeff Thomas. All three records were released through www.spiritandsong.com, a publishing company based out of Portland, Oregon. In 2005, Maher signed a publishing deal with EMI publishing, and went on to have several of his songs recorded by other artists (Phillips Craig and Dean, Michael Olson, Bethany Dillon, Chris Tomlin). In the spring of 2007, Maher signed to Essential Records. His new album "Empty and Beautiful" was released on April 8, 2008.