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Ben Sollee is a classically trained American cellist and singer-songwriter. His music incorporates banjo, guitar, percussion and unusual cello techniques to create a unique mix of folk, bluegrass, jazz and R&B.
Ben has found considerable success in recent years through his ability to bend. In 2007, he was named one of NPR’s “Top Ten Unknown Artists of the Year.” His distinctive cello technique and soulful voice have been marinating for years in his work with avant-garde bluesman Otis Taylor, The Sparrow Quartet, (featuring banjo-master Béla Fleck), and on the internationally known Woodsongs Old Time Radio Hour.
Ben’s unique performance experience and creative vision trump his 24 years and traditional classical training; he is poised to emerge as a solo artist, bridging genres and demographics with earnest and dynamic songwriting. However, the single most salient quality of Learning to Bend, is Ben’s contagiously optimistic worldview. Ben is not just expressing his personal quest for flexibility, he is asking the entire country to learn to bend, learn how to cry, learn how to see the sun rise… He is at the forefront of a movement that is happening right now: a zeitgeist in which a nation can face reality and empower itself to evolve and feel deeply and stand up for the power of hope.
Larry Cordle and Lonesome Standard Time
Most widely known as a writer, Kentucky native Larry Cordle has had songs recorded by Ricky Skaggs, Garth Brooks, Alison Krauss, Alan Jackson, George Strait, The Osborne Brothers, and many others. At last count, Cordle's songs had appeared on projects that had sold a combined total of more than 50 million records.
In 1999, Larry decided to reform the band and with the newly assimilated Lonesome Standard Time, released Murder on Music Row in 2000. The project was nominated for another Grammy, reached #1 on both the Americana and Bluegrass charts, and the title track was named Song of the Year by the Country Music Association and the International Bluegrass Music Association. The band also enjoyed attention from major media, including reviews in USA Today and People, as well as country and bluegrass music publications.
Lonesome Standard Time now includes Booie Beach on guitar, Kim Gardner on dobro, Mike Anglin on bass, and Kristin Scott Benson on banjo. Each musician is established and respected in the bluegrass community, offering a sense of professionalism that is easily recognized on and off the stage. Larry simply states, "They are just some of the finest players I've ever heard." A band of this caliber opens up all sorts of musical possibilities and Cordle is eager to explore them. "I don't want anybody to take this the wrong way, but just the term 'bluegrass' is so limiting. Yeah, we're a bluegrass band, but there's just so much that can be done within the realm of acoustic music."
Cordle’s exceptional body of original material and passion for performing, combined with the unparalleled talent of Lonesome Standard Time, result in an explosive stage show that wows crowds everywhere.
