Ben Drysdale colours his heartfelt lyrics with musical shades of indie folk, reggae, blues, funk and soul tailoring the energy of a set to the venue: whether engaging a thoughtful listening crowd or filling a dance floor.

After playing around Canberra and the East coast of Australia since 2004 fronting a number of bands (Smitten, Beth n Ben, and 8-piece funk and soul outfit East Row Rabble) Ben received an ArtsACT Homefront grant this year to record a modern indie Folk EP under his own name. Ben has spent the last six months working with writers all over the world to develop a suite of new songs and can’t wait to share some of them with you this intimate afternoon gig celebrating the Festival of Forgotten Minds as part of Mental Health Month. The Festival of Forgotten Minds is a reminder of the importance of arts & music to people with mental illness. Something to brighten moods during a tough year.

Joined by East Row Rabble keys extraordinaire Niall Howe, Ben will play a mixture of old and new songs exploring the wide spectrum of darkness and light our human minds wade through as we stumble through life.

Massive thanks to Ralph Nelson for supporting this event through the Festival of Forgotten Minds and to Nigel, Beth and all the amazing staff at Smith’s who support live original music.