Ben Rector

I suppose it all started in my parents’ bathroom. All tile, it sounds like I'm singing through a cheap reverb patch. Hours upon hours were spent singing and playing a 3/4 sized plywood guitar my uncle had given me. Songs came quickly, usually totally improv. That's still how I write, it just flows. After discovering the ability to "freestyle," I implemented this into my sets, and it quickly became a crowd favorite. Living with a drummer, I began to practice rudiments, and shortly after began to use my guitar for percussion. Between tight loops, flowing improv, piano playing, singing into and drumming on the guitar, word spread quickly that the live show was not to be missed.

I wrote for and sang with a band called Euromart for a while. Within a few months of playing our first show to a capacity crowd at the legendary Cain's Ballroom, we were packing local clubs, consistently bringing many more fans than the headliners we shared the stage with, along with selling 250 copies of our debut EP in just two shows. All of this, mind you, at the tender age of 18. We won the Oral Roberts University Battle of the Bands, coming in first of ten. This was quite a feat; a band of freshman (only one of which attended school there) outplaying bands of music majors and well known upperclassmen, chosen by both the judges and the crowd as the winner. We ended our run with a farewell show at Tulsa’s “Riverwalk Crossing” which was filmed for the WB’s “Live at Riverwalk Crossing” televised concert series and attended by around 2,000 people.

My self titled EP was recorded partially in Nashville at RCA Studio B, and partially at Oral Roberts University’s Bach’s House Studios. Things have gone extraordinarily well, the songs have received an incredible response, and the fanbase has quickly grown from local to regional. I did an Arkansas CD release in Fayetteville (where I currently reside) with national recording artist Matt Wertz in front of a crowd of 1,000. I sold the entire first run of the EP (300 copies) in four shows. Recently, I won the University of Arkansas Talent Show. A few weeks after, I won the University of Arkansas Battle of the Bands with just my guitar, a piano, a loop pedal, and an improvised half-rap song about elephants (the suggestion of someone in the audience) along with a couple other originals. The competition was stiff, comprised of seven of the best rap and rock acts in the area, one of which was recently featured on the front page of purevolume.com. Shortly after, the university asked me to play with Ben Kweller at their spring concert.

In the past year I’ve been blessed to share the stage with Ben Kweller (ATO/RCA), Stephen Speaks, Matt Wertz, The Hero Factor (New Ark Entertainment), Jackson Waters (Word Records), Traveler, Xanadu, The Red Alert, The Jacob Wright Band, Stoneface Norman and many, many more.

I couldn't tell you what the future holds, but I can say that I am excited for what is in store. Nothing brings me more joy than to see someone really relate to or be captured by a song I've had the opportunity to write, and as time goes on, I've been blessed with opportunities to experience that more and more.