feat. Ben Kessler
Introducing Ben Kessler.
Ben is a rising star singer songwriter from the Philly area. Having only recently graduated college, Ben is already making waves in the music industry as an independent artist with his smooth production, honest and relatable lyricism, and powerful vocals. His debut EP, "Cruise Control," released earlier this year, captures the complex nature of dealing with anxiety, establishing a genuine sense of identity, and navigating evolving relationships.
Shortly after his EP release, Ben caught the attention of Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda, who mixed one of Ben's early singles, “Known Like This,” live on his Twitch channel. Shinoda referred to Ben as a “remarkable talent who a lot of people are about to discover,” and we couldn’t agree more. Ben has collaborated with fellow talented emerging artist, Lizzy McAlpine, on multiple hit tracks including “False Art” and his latest single “I Think I.”
Ben’s future is extremely bright, and he is without a doubt an artist to keep a close eye on. The Busker team is thrilled to highlight his work and share a Q&A with Ben himself.
Q: Who is Ben Kessler? What inspired you to start making music and pursuing music as a career?
Thanks for having me! I started playing guitar really young — I only got into songwriting & production in high school when my obsession with guitar started to fade. I really fell in love with writing and recording when I realized I could make demos that sounded like my influences at the time. Around then I began to play open mics in Philly & NYC — those evolved into my own headlining shows & releases. I feel like I never really made a choice to pursue music — I just haven’t stopped since those open mics in high school!
Q: Your music is extremely honest and vulnerable. How does it feel to put your songs out in the world and perform them for an audience?
Most of my music has been released during COVID so I haven’t been able to perform it yet. I think that making so much of this music while the world was locked down made me a bit desensitized to the honesty & vulnerability of it all — but I love writing things that I am afraid to share.
Q: You spent your college years in Nashville. How has the Nashville scene influenced you as a musician?
There is a huge emphasis in Nashville on the quality of the song — I think being around so many artists and writers who are all trying to master the craft of songwriting definitely made me a better writer.
Q: What are some of the pros and cons of being an independent artist?
I think the biggest pros of being independent are having full creative control & the ability to move really quickly. It is nice having the flexibility to make decisions without appeasing other parties & I really enjoy building all of this at my own pace. On the other hand, there are so many artists trying to break right now — it is really difficult to keep up without a team to help block out some of that noise and help grow your career with funding/resources.
Q: You've done some amazing collaborations with other rising artists like Lizzy McAlpine and Pastel. What’s it been like to work with, and grow alongside so many other talented musicians. Should we expect more collaborations in the future? Who would be your dream collaboration?
I really enjoy collaborating and definitely have more in the works! It is always exciting to learn from & grow with other artists like Lizzy and Pastel. My dream is to work with Justin Vernon.
Q: Any new projects in the works?
I don’t want to share too much — but new music is coming shortly :)