tour

New Video, Pop-Up Shows, SXSW

Ben Sollee ⋅ From Ben, Tour, Uncategorized, Video ⋅ , , , , , , , , , , , , ⋅

Hi Friends and Fans,

Things are really beginning to gear up here in 2013. Most immediately, we’re heading out to the “in-famous” (quote: Three Amigos) SXSW Festival in Austin, TX. But, we can’t just go from 0 to 60 in a day. So, we’ve booked a few tiny “pop-up shows” THIS WEEK around Kentucky to warm-up for the event. These mini-concerts will feature a lot of the music from the latest record, Half-Made Man, with my trusty musical companion, the eight-armed Jordon Ellis on percussion. I know it’s last minute, but if you can make it, these will be a lot of fun. Here’s the scoop:

PopUpShows

Looking back for a moment, thanks to everyone who attended December’s show at the Lexington Opera House. Your support helped to generate nearly $10,000 in donations to Institute 193 so they can keep doing their good work in Kentucky. Remember that night? A packed house, massive shadow puppets, the stunning Anna + Elizabeth, etc… Well, if your memory is a little foggy or you weren’t able to be there, check out this beautiful video by Institute 193 documenting the show.

 

INSTITUTE 193 PRESENTS BEN SOLLEE from Institute 193 on Vimeo.

In other news, I’m thrilled to be heading out in support of Over the Rhine in April. If you live in the eastern side of the country we’re probably coming somewhere near you. Check out the tour dates on the website. There you can also get info on all the upcoming events this spring and summer.

As always, I’m so grateful for your support and enthusiasm… you’re the best!

Ben

 

Updates from the road

Ben Sollee ⋅ Half-Made Man, Tour, Video ⋅ , , , , , , , , ⋅

Wowy, wow, wow, wow! Ben, along with Jordon Ellis and Luke Reynolds, have been killing it this tour! You may have heard that the cops shut down the show in Indianapolis at the Broad Ripple Music Fest, but they may have had more success if they would have called the fire department. Because the cello was on fire!! Those of you lucky enough to have been a part of the final song, Built For This, let it be known that your participation is spot on! For those who weren’t there, at least technology saved the day and there video proof. Check out this magic….

 

And then there was the show at Cats in the Cream at Oberlin College.  This account of the filled-to-(over)-capacity show is a good one! Speaking of large crowds, Louisville welcomed Ben and crew home in style with 2 packed shows at Headliners! Here is a video of Ben singing Healer off his new studio album, Half-Made Man, while NOT playing the cello (gasp!).

Now, if you are hoping to catch one of Ben’s live shows, check out the Tour calendar! He will be in Philadelphia, Boston, Fairfield, CT, and Washington, DC this week. Then in November, he goes a little further. I’m talking to you, Texas, Arizona, Utah, California, Washington, Oregon and Colorado! And even if you don’t live in those areas, you probably have friends who do. So, be a good friend and share the music! We love you guys and appreciate everything you have done to make this tour so awesome! We can always use help in getting the word out about shows, so if you are interested in sharing, then shoot me an email at teamsollee@bensollee.com. ~Jessica, Team Sollee

 

Half-Made Man Available Today!

Ben Sollee ⋅ From Ben, Half-Made Man, PledgeMusic, Uncategorized ⋅ , , , , , , ⋅

Hi Friends,

We made it! It’s release week for the new record, Half-Made Man. I feel like we’ve been building a ship in a dry dock and now, with all the pieces and parts in place, we’re pushing it in to the water. With radio stations adding the music to their playlists, blogs and other media reviewing, and CNN featuring it on TV there’s a lot to get excited about. Personally, I’m most enthusiastic about your support. This project would not even exist without your funding through Pledge Music!

We’re celebrating the release with a new show and a national tour featuring, as always, the hyper-versatile percussionist Jordon Ellis as well as the multi-insturmentalist Luke Reynolds. It’s a big leap forward for us but we believe in the music and you, the audience. Unfortunately, we won’t be on our bikes for this tour but we’re encouraging folks to get to the show in healthier ways. For those of you that ride your bike, walk, or take public transit to the shows you’ll be greeted at the door by a $5 voucher to the merch table. Spread the word if you find that exciting. There will even be bike valet at some of the shows

As we grow, please know that you’re the reason. This project is another opportunity to share the Sollee story with family, friends, and local businesses. If you get inspired, spread the word on your various Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages. Have fun with it and let folks know in your own way. Here’s the link to iTunes if you want to send them directly to the music:  http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/half-made-man/id556347983

Ya’ll take care,
Ben

Team Sollee is looking for members!

Ben Sollee ⋅ Half-Made Man, Interviews, PledgeMusic, Team Sollee, Tour, Uncategorized ⋅ , , , , , , , , ⋅

Ben has talked about how challenging it is to be an independent artist and how he tries to surround himself with a strong team that works hard to get his music out to the fans. In fact, many of you joined the team by supporting the PledgeMusic campaign. And that support directly resulted in helping make Half-Made Man everything Ben imagined. In fact, Ben recently talked with Kyle Meredith, of The Weekly Feed, about this exact thing (among other things!). Check out what he says here:

Now we are presenting another opportunity for you to join the Team. Ben has a great Fall tour planned in support of the Sept 25 release of Half-Made Man. But we need help in spreading the word! Don’t you just hate it when you find out a great band has come to town the day after the show?? Save your friends from that heartbreak! Tell them not to miss Ben! We would like to offer you something for helping, too. There are so many ways for you to help — sharing the event, tweeting about it, talking to your special interest groups, letting us know places to hang posters, etc. Please email me at teamsollee@bensollee.com for more details.

We are really excited to share the new music with you and hope you are ready to hear it!!

~Jessica, Team Sollee

A new band member and tour dates!

Ben Sollee ⋅ From Ben, Half-Made Man, Tour, Uncategorized ⋅ , , , , , , , ⋅

We’re heading out on the road this fall with a new band member. Luke Reynolds is an old, very talented friend who has been out on the road touring with folks like Brett Dennen and Guster for the last few years. In the trio he will be holding down bass, playing some mean electric and acoustic guitar, and, like usual, singing like champ. He’s a wonderful songwriter as well and I behoove you to check out his stuff.

 Luke, Jordon Ellis, and I will be traversing the country all fall so jump over to the tour page because we’re hopefully coming to your town!
~Ben

Letter from Ben….

Ben Sollee ⋅ From Ben, Music ⋅ , , , , , ⋅

Hello Friends,

I want to start off with a huge high-five for all the support through the release of the live record and my ride from NYC to DC as part of the 2012 Climate Ride. With your enthusiasm we’ve raised over $2500 for Kentuckians for the Commonwealth and motivated me (despite a bad bike wreck that totaled my bike and nearly me) to ride over 330 miles to the National Mall in front of Congress. If you wanted to support the cause but didn’t get around to it you still can! Just head over to my Climate Ride profile.

For those of you that made it out to shows in May I hope you had as good a time as we did. Every show was exciting and different and you all in the audience were so rocking! Now, Jordon Ellis and I will direct our dear tour van Tammy north for shows beginning next week. Are we coming through your community? Check out the tour calendar and get your tickets in advance to these intimate venues. Plus, the shows are pretty much the only place to get the limited edition printing of Live at the Grocery on Home unless you order it here.

There’s lot of cool happenings on the horizon! Our biggest hurdle is letting folks now where and when we are. If you want to have some fun and spread the word you can download the tour poster directly from the website and hang it up in your favorite spot in town. Snap a picture of your handiwork and email it teamsollee@bensollee.com and we’ll make sure that you get a $5 voucher for the merch table at the show you attend! Come on, you know there’s a primo spot in your favorite coffee shop that could use a little decoration.

 

Again, thanks for all the support. We’ll keep coming if you do!
Ben

Ben Sollee Joins the THE ROAD TO NEWPORT…

Ben Sollee ⋅ Tour, Uncategorized ⋅ , , , , , ⋅

Hey BOSTON!! I’m excited to announce that I’ll be supporting The Head & The Heart as we both make our way to the Newport Folk Festival. Get all the details below:

 

The Head and The Heart
w/ Ben Sollee
Wednesday July 25
7pm Doors
8pm Show

 

THE ROAD FROM NEWPORT… look for two-wheeled details coming soon!

You help us and we give you free stuff!

Ben Sollee ⋅ Team Sollee, Tour, Uncategorized ⋅ , , , , , , ⋅

We have been overwhelmed with how supportive and generous the fans have been when asked to help promote Ben’s shows! THANK YOU!! We want to keep it going and have come up with a Team Sollee reward system to help show our appreciation.  This is how it works:

1. If Ben is coming to your town and you want to help pack the house, then email us at teamsollee@bensollee.com.  We will send you a poster that you can either print to hang around town or share electronically.

2. Show us…if you hang a poster, take a pic and send it to us or post it on Ben’s facebook page and/or tweet it. If you share it via facebook, make sure it is ‘public’ and tag Ben in the post. If you tweet about it, tag Ben (@bensollee).

If you do those simple things, then we will send you a $5 merchandise voucher!!

And if you are especially eager to help and want a free show ticket for yourself and a friend, then you can volunteer to work the merch table!!

Ready? Set? Goooooo!

Jessica,
Team Sollee

Watch “That fellow with the cello” tonight (in person or on the computer)!

Ben Sollee ⋅ Music, Tour ⋅ , , , , , , ⋅

Good news for all of you Ben Sollee fans who aren’t able to see him live and in person…..his show in Nashville tonight is also available online through Music City Roots! The weekly Nashville radio show and concert starts at 7pm CST. Now, if you are anywhere NEAR Nashville, it is highly suggested that you make your way to the Loveless Cafe Barn!!

 

Crikey! Ben wows the land down under!

Ben Sollee ⋅ Australia, Music, Tour ⋅ , , , , , , , , , , ⋅

Ben embarked on his first tour of Australia in March 2012. His three weeks there were filled with music festivals, beautiful venues and making memories with new & old friends. Ben even found a new Patagonia store in Sydney and played an in-store that was also broadcast through StageIt.com. Ben has a long standing partnership with Patagonia and has enjoyed other in-stores at their headquarters in California. Ben had a great interview on The Music Show with Andrew Ford that talked about Ben’s ‘fresh techniques and songs that matter.’

After a performance like the one at the Port Fairy Folk Fest, where Abigail Washburn and Krystle Warren joined Ben on stage, the word started to spread. The end of his tour included sold out or nearly sold out shows and they were trying to entice Ben back by selling him on a “Ditch The Van” tour, Australian style.

 

-Jessica, Team Sollee (teamsollee@gmail.com)