Inside Matthew McConaughey’s ‘Poems & Prayers’ revival book tour

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Matthew McConaughey is rarely at a loss for words — or catchphrases. But when he stepped onstage at Kings Theatre in Brooklyn, N.Y., this week, he admitted he was nervous.

The Oscar-winning actor, 55, was performing to a crowd of approximately 2,800 on Sept. 16 to promote his new book, Poems & Prayers. He didn’t want to do a typical bookstore press tour. Rather, he thought it would be a lot cooler if he did surprise pop-ups in parks, reading poetry while perched on a bench. Ultimately, he landed on a five-city “revival book tour,” featuring performances by A-list musical guests.

Poems & Prayers is a collection of McConaughey’s poetry written over 36 years, beginning when he was 18. They’re about Hollywood, love, faith, fatherhood, exes, “carnal desires,” sobriety, “f***ups,” politicians, Porta Potties and aging. Some are written as actual prayers — starting with “Dear God…” — though he says they all are, writing, “My prayers are my poems are my prayers.”

The book is his attempt to make sense of the world, which has been “tougher to do lately,” he wrote in it. That’s because “facts have become unreliably overrated” and people are out to prove that truth is “outdated” and honesty has become “a deluded currency.” He rejects that, saying he wants to continue believing — in humanity, in himself, in the potential of people.

To me, the poems are very much from the mind of McConaughey. A wild ride that’s a little all over the place. Like the acknowledgements at the back of the book, which thank everyone from Bob Dylan to Hunter S. Thompson, King Solomon and Rumi and the entire Republic of Mali, Africa.

For night one of his experiment, where the laidback Texan and wizard of wordplay was joined partway through by Jon Bon Jovi, I found myself among McConaughey believers on a magical mystery tour of spirituality. I gave myself over to the church of McConaughey for what I can only describe as an opening sermon, where for about 15 minutes he paced the stage, preaching about belief being in short supply.

“I’m not only talking about belief in God — although personally I am seeking [more of] that for myself,” McConaughey, already a bestselling author for 2020’s Greenlights, which has sold over 6 million copies, told the crowd. “I’m talking about more belief in ourselves and each other and what we care about and tomorrow.”

For someone who’s been a serious thespian, rom-com king, political tease and infamous bongo enthusiast, it felt like a new chapter in his ongoing reinvention — this time as a kind of spiritual hypeman.

“Who would you die for?” he asked at one point. People called out: “My mom,” “My nephew,” “Beyoncé,’ “you!” He nodded, collected the answers, then turned them into a lesson: Those are the people you should start living for.

McConaughey’s beliefs, politics and spirituality are hard to pin down — maybe on purpose. Whatever it was — book tour, church sermon, one-man show — it was unusual, but seemed sincere, as well as being, well, unmistakably him.

Fans — and families —gather at the Church of McConaughey

The crowd was decked out in T-shirts with his Dazed and Confused character Wooderson, “just keep livin” slogans and plenty of orange University of Texas at Austin gear. Factor in his own Pantalones Tequila flowing at a lobby bar, and some audience members were loose enough to send catcalls down from the mezzanine. (“Read page 69!” someone screamed to the married father of three.)

What brought people out? I took a lap through the theater to find out.

Among the attendees were a multigenerational family roadtripping from South Carolina, a Brooklynite who recently had a personal revelation reading Greenlights and a Pennsylvania high school teacher who had school in the morning.

“I could listen to him talk about the way the wind blows,” Courtney tells Yahoo.

She carpooled to the event from northern Virginia with her younger sister, Ashlyn, who was marking her 21st birthday, as well as their mother, Amanda, and her 75-year-old grandmother. Amanda spent around $240 to $280 for the four tickets, “and about $100 on drinks,” including shots of McConaughey’s tequila.

“I’m gonna freak out,” McConaughey fan Ashlyn tells me before the show. “What am I expecting? I’m expecting Matthew to be Matthew. To share his words of wisdom. I loved Greenlights.”

She wasn’t the only one. Jennifer, a 42-year-old from Brooklyn, purchased Greenlights a few years ago, but only read it recently and had a breakthrough. That’s why she was there.

McConaughey wrote about taking “walkabouts” to unplug when he was feeling overstimulated and clear his head from opinions, she explains. She was feeling that way herself when she picked up his memoir and followed his lead.

“I told everyone, ‘Look, I’m not going to answer my texts for two days,’” she says of doing her own walkabout. “It did wonders,” adding that she thinks he “was ahead of his time” giving that advice five years ago because our use of technology has only increased.

Ironically, a pop-up ad alerted Jennifer to the tour that brought her here tonight. She had no idea McConaughey had another book coming out and saw it as a sign, so she plunked down $60 for the experience and was ready to soak it all in.

Dayna, 49, just moved from Texas to New Jersey, and made a two-hour trek (car, train, subway) to the Brooklyn venue, paying $60 on a ticket.

A recent widow who is figuring out what’s next, she’s been making a point of getting out to shows and book readings. The event spoke to her because she’s been watching lots of old movies lately. This past summer, she introduced her 22-year-old daughter to Dazed and Confused, “so she’d know where ‘Alright, alright, alright’ came from,” she tells Yahoo.

Dayna has watched McConaughey’s season of True Detective four times, praising the writing. She counts How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days as a rewatchable favorite and thinks The Paperboy is one of McConaughey’s best roles.

“He’s just a great character of a person,” Dayna says. “I appreciate his values — like the work he did with Uvalde. And the risks he takes as an actor and creative.”

Christine, 53, and her friend Patty, 55, were part of the crowd and drove in from Pennsylvania for a girls’ night out-meets-soul refresh.

“We came to be inspired and awakened,” says Christine. “To feel good about the world today. A little uplift. And secretly, I have a little crush on [Bon Jovi].”

Christine says they spent $200 for two tickets, which she paid for because Patty agreed to drive. They were headed home that night, a well over 2-hour drive, so that Christine could teach high school in the morning.

The teacher wasn’t the only one who traveled for a little eye candy.

Vitali, 35, and Alena, 36, were from Brooklyn by way of Belarus and Ukraine, and were mostly there for the star power.

“For us, [McConaughey and Bon Jovi] superstars,” Alena tells Yahoo, adding that she was curious if they were still “hot.”

Still, the appeal ran deeper than aesthetics.

“Not only that,” Vitali says. “[They’re good] human beings. Matthew is a great guy. I read Greenlights. It was wonderful. I wanted to be closer to the stage, but those seats were sold out.”

2 stars, 1 stage, no script

For $60 to $100 a ticket (with a $29 book to take home), attendees received far more than a typical author event. What unfolded was an unfiltered, intimate evening featuring two best-in-class stars — a shelf of awards between them — just riffing.

McConaughey recited his poems. One, he said, was written while he was in the bathtub in Australia at age 18. At the time, he was strongly considering becoming a monk. He was also listening to U2’s Rattle and Hum and had just pleasured himself. (True story.)

Bon Jovi — or “JBJ” as McConaughy called him all night — grounded the experience. Old friends from filming 2000’s U-571, they had casual banter between pieces. While McConaughey read, the rock legend strummed along on guitar, giving the feel of being at a private show.

That included hiccups. It was so unscripted that a few times they started over mid-performance. But when you have two of Hollywood’s biggest talents onstage alone running the show, they could adjust and it only served to make the experience more intimate.

Bon Jovi, who’s recovering from his 2022 vocal cord surgery, even sang one of McConaughey’s poems. He said he was healed at this point and being at the mic “is one step closer to being back where I belong.”

They touched a little on religion, not going too deep. McConaughey is a regular church-goer, he said, but didn’t say where. Bon Jovi called himself a “recovering Catholic.” He also said “he never lost faith” during his healing journey.

The friends also had a heartfelt but humorous exchange about aging. One of McConaughey’s poems, “What’re You Gonna Do?,” was written after he turned 50, now five years ago, when he was thinking about his mortality, legacy and relevance. He asked how Bon Jovi, 63, felt about reaching that milestone and whether it stirred up any deep feelings.

Bon Jovi answered that turning 50 was OK for him, but told the audience to take a lot of pictures at their party that year because it’s “your last pretty birthday,” suggesting aging seems to speed up after that. He added, “Even Matthew McConaughey is gonna have to face that demon someday.”

As the show wrapped, after an hour and a half, the audience gave a standing ovation and the velvet curtain slowly fell and the duo slipped out of view. McConaughey was on to the next stop in his revival tour, and his fans wandered out into the night with their new poem book tucked under their arms — maybe a little inspired, maybe a little dazed and confused, but definitely entertained in a unique — and McConaughey — way.