Ben is turning 42 and is thus looking forward to discovering the meaning of life and sharing it with you all as he hits the Smith's stage once again with Niall Howe for a birthday bash from 3-5pm Saturday January 20.

Ben Drysdale is a contemporary folk musician from Canberra who has won prizes in Nashville and Hawaii songwriting competitions. His songs blend folk, soul and blues and span from vulnerable, visceral ballads exploring the darkness and light of the human condition to upbeat foot stompers full of energy and hope.

Niall Howe’s style is the result of classical training on piano and pipe organ, combined with journeys through folk, jazz, funk, ska and swing. He blends all of this is together, creating eclectic layers that build new dimensions into the songs he accompanies, complementing Drysdale’s genre-bending style perfectly.

More on Ben Drysdale:  Drysdale has played shows in the US, Ireland and Canada and featured on bills with some of Australia’s greatest including Paul Kelly, The Waifs and Busby Marou as well as international stars such as Chris Isaak. After playing around Canberra and the East coast of Australia since 2004 both solo, and fronting a number of bands including Smitten, Beth n Ben, and 8-piece funk and soul outfit East Row Rabble, Drysdale is embarking on a new Indie folk project under his own name.

Ben’s debut solo single ‘If I Don’t Lie Down’ was released on December 15th 2023 and hit the AMRAP regional charts at number 7, has a feature profile on the Australian Independent Record Labels Association Website, and received rave reviews from music magazines and blogs around the world including the US, UK, France, Mexico, Ghana and Serbia with people streaming in over 50 countries.

Ben recently landed 2nd place in the 2023 Hawaii Songwriting Festival songwriting competition with his unreleased song ‘Listen Now’, which was also a semi-finalist in the 2020 International Songwriting Competition.

His unreleased track ‘I’m Flyin’ Now’ received an honourable mention in the ‘Folk/Singer songwriter’ category of the 2022 Unsigned Only Music Competition and was also a winner of the ‘Win Some Love’ promotion placing it in the top 3 of honourable mentions across all categories.

Ben’s 2021 release ‘Either Way’ (a duet with LA artist Justina Shandler) was featured on Season 3 of the US TV show ‘Good Trouble’ in March 2021 and MTVs ‘Ex On The Beach’ in 2022. His music has also featured on The Young and The Restless. Ben’s catalogue has 38 music licensing deals across 11 agencies around the world.

Drysdale has released five studio EPs and a full length live album including Smitten’s self-titled debut EP (2007), Beth n Ben’s releases Boarding Pass (EP 2010), Economy Class (EP 2011), Scenic Roots (EP 2013), and Baggage Claim (Live Album 2015), and East Row Rabble’s debut self-titled EP (2018). Drysdale has co-written on 6 tracks that other artists have released including ‘Either Way’ by LA artist Justina Shandler and H1Fiv3’s ‘Clock’s Tickin’’ which he featured vocals on. Another 5 track EP under the moniker Back Alley Scholar, and a 8-track solo album are as yet unreleased and will be coming out in the near future.

More on Niall Howe:  Niall has been obsessed with noise and has loved playing music for over 40 years. His style is the result of classical training on piano and pipe organ, combined with journeys through folk, jazz, rock, funk, ska and swing. He blends all of this is together, creating eclectic layers that build new dimensions into the songs he accompanies.