Ben Howard was first encouraged to make music by the surfer community – the surfer community in England. Yup, apparently the waves are gnarly in southwest England and that’s where Ben grew up, learned to surf and learned to play guitar. His mother's collection of Joni Mitchell, Donovan, and Richie Havens records inspired Ben to write his own songs. He dropped out of school one semester shy of earning his journalism degree to pursue music full-time. “A lot of people said I was crazy to leave that close to the end of the course, but a friend of mine said, ‘The most beautiful lives are the ones that take risks’, which was encouraging. And my parents were very supportive. They told me to do whatever makes me happy.” Now at age 25, Ben should have no complaints with a brilliant debut album Every Kingdom and an ever-growing fanbase.
Hear the WFUV CD of the Week Thursdays at 8 pm on 90.7 FM (radio broadcast only).
Ben Howard performs at Webster Hall September 19.
