Ben Rice Band
- 2015 Bands
- Tuesday, 28 October 2014 20:30
- 1149
On Stage: Saturday 1pm
Ben Rice and the iLLamatics were the Cascade Blues Association’s representatives at the 2014 International Blues Challenge in Memphis TN, where they placed as one of the top nine finalists out of 250 acts from around the world. Ben, at 25 is a growing force in the NW Blues scene. Ben Rice brings vintage blues into the modern era. Twisting soul, roots blues, and west coast blues with rockabilly, funk, and rock. Ben Rice, as Lloyd Jones put, “gets it.” Along with their music is an exhilarating stage show featuring, cigar box guitars, resonators, and lots of crowd interaction. Ben Rice has already been established as a virtuosic guitar player with a soulful voice. His inventive twists on blues are creating a buzz up and down the West coast. Winning the 2013 Male Vocalist and Traditional Act of the Year from the Cascade Blues Association as well as Performance and Acoustic Guitar of the Year from the West Side Blues Society.
Ben’s last all original CD, “Pour Me Some Whiskey” is being among the best CD releases from the Northwest. Although Rice is young, he has a lot of experience. Playing alongside some of the top musicians in the National Blues Scene. First picking up his fathers nylon stringed guitar at five, he now has twenty years of playing, numerous awards, nominations, and a music degree from the University of Oregon. In a musical world saturated with young guitarists, his reputation is building. Not as a “hot rod guitar player” but as a good band leader, great songwriter, wonderful performer, soul inspiring singer, and a guitar player that can do it all, “Of course he does, it’s Ben, he can do everything