Ben Rector

Ben Rector – born on November 8, 1986 in Tulsa, Oklahoma – is an American pop musician based in Nashville, Tennessee. His music is characterized by a combination of melodically captivating anthems (“Brand New” and “Never Gonna Let You Go”) and passionate piano ballads (“The Men That Drive Me Places” and “When a Heart Breaks”), and his songs are filled with heartfelt, genuine lyrics that speak on a relatable level to anyone who listens to them.

His music career began in 2006 with the release of a self-titled EP while attending the University of Arkansas, when his song “Conversation” won the Grand Prize in the Pop category of the John Lennon Songwriting Contest. While still at Arkansas, Rector began doing shows on campus and in nearby states, and released two full-length albums – Twenty Tomorrow in 2007, and Songs That Duke Wrote in 2008.

After college, Rector moved to Nashville and released Into the Morning in 2010, Something Like This in 2011, The Walking in Between in 2013, and Brand New in 2015. With the release of Brand New, Rector achieved his first Top Ten album on the Billboard 200 chart, debuting at the No. 9 spot. On June 22nd, 2018, he released his seventh studio album, Magic.

Rector has also released one live album, recorded at Denver’s Gothic Theatre in 2014, which gives the listener a glimpse into Ben’s character, and the energy he brings as he engages with the audience. A staple of his live shows are short videos taken at the end of each show, where the crowd remains completely silent until Rector throws his hands into the air, upon which the audience erupts with thunderous applause.

Notable EPs include a 2009 Christmas EP, Jingles and Bells, and 2014’s Newy Lewis and the Hues, when Rector (jokingly) announced his retirement from making original music to pursue his dream of becoming the world’s greatest one man Huey Lewis and the News cover band.

Having started a family this past year, Rector has been spending more time with his wife, Hillary, and their newborn daughter, Jane.