Matt Dorrien (photo: William Wayland)

The songs on In the Key of Grey will feel warm and familiar to anyone who’s ever experienced loneliness and heartache.  Dropping the needle on this LP takes you to a world where it’s autumn and the leaves are falling…or, no, maybe it’s raining and you have nowhere else to go. She’s not coming back this time. The dog is gone, too, and your only friend pours another whiskey. He says this one is on the house. Over in the corner, a man with a beard shakes off his overcoat and sits down at the piano that used to be in tune.

It wasn’t exactly like that when Matt Dorrien visited the Big Easy. The sad part is that there weren’t more people to appreciate all the places he can take melancholy. He’s unpacking these gray songs in smaller venues around the West Coast to celebrate the album’s release. You have one last chance to catch this ex-San Franciscan tonight at the Lost Church.

Faustina Masigat is the perfect performer to share the bill with Mr. Dorrien. A singer-songwriter, she’s currently touring to support her self-titled album of deeply introspective and vulnerable music.