Cellist and singer-songwriter Ben Sollee (from bensollee.com)
Forget about the guitar or the banjo. The music of Kentucky-born singer-songwriter Ben Sollee (b. 1983) centers around an unlikely instrument: the cello. Sollee’s songs are an eclectic mix of bluegrass, folk, rhythm and blues and more. He approaches the cello as if there are no limitations. Listen to the colorful array of sounds he creates in this TED clip.
Touring on a bicycle, Ben Sollee has been an outspoken advocate for a series of social and environmental issues, including protesting Appalachian mountaintop removal. The Lincoln Memorial provided a backdrop for A Few Honest Words.
Sollee’s latest work, Steeples Part One, is a collection of three songs, released last month:
