In the last couple of years Ben has played over 60 gigs all around the
country, playing his individual Lo-Fi Post-Folk musings at venues such
as City Folk at The Heavenly Social, (supporting Radio 2 Award Winner
Kris Drever), Anti-Folk night 'blang!' at 12 Bar, and Bohemian Jukebox
in Birmingham. He also joined Guillemots onstage for their final number
at a packed out show at Birmingham Academy. He’s the local support
choice of both NYC Anti-Folk originator Lach, and political folk-rocker
Chris T-T.
2008 marked Ben’s Moseley Folk Festival hat-trick when he played for
the third consecutive year in a row charming audiences and reviewers
alike while appearing on a bill that included Jose Gonzalez, Rachael
Unthank and The Winterset, Sharron Kraus, The Bees, and John Smith.



Ben’s song Leeds For The Winter was played by John Peel on his Radio
One show, and songs from his autumnal debut The Leafy Underground have
been playlisted and played on national and Independent radio stations
in England, Australia, Spain, Japan and Austria.



"Finely crafted songwriting" Metro.



"Resurrects the mad ghosts of Nico and Nick Drake" Virtual Festivals.



With band there are energetic songs sung over power chords, with an
unconventional double bass and lively drums.
In the new LP The Broken Family DaySaver these two sounds meet in an
album where unashamedly happy songs of seaside jaunts, day trips, and
amyl nitrate sniffin' sit next to reflections on impossible summers,
crippling jealousy and the single parent conundrum.




The Broken Family DaySaver-Out now on Bearos.

Available direct from Ben via this site, on itunes, from Bearos and from independent record shops.




"A booty bag of avid odes to poppers, kids and wonderboys; he's an understated emancipator of lyrical wisdom."

Plan-B.



“Haunting,
heart-bruising tales bitterly stumble into each other as if played by a
meth-ed up, homeless Johnny Marr. The dark humour and stark honesty of
Ben Calvert is paralysing, and charmingly so”

The Fly




“Although Ben Calvert has a folk heart, it is a folk heart which has
been broken on indie dancefloors to the sounds of Blur and The Smiths.
An accomplished piece of art.”

Indie mp3.co.uk



“The world of Ben Calvert is one of family, sex, drugs and psychedelic
folk soul where city doldrums, insalubrious corners, glue-sniffers and
cynical grey tile skies are redeemed and lined with silver by the
innocence of ‘Kids’.
“The Broken Family Day Saver” is the very type of English modern day
troubadour album which would be perfectly aplomb in any Shane Meadows
film, and sees a return to the form which previously heralded radio
play and endorsement from John Peel. An unexamined life is not worth
living.”

Redbricks Magazine.




“Flee is a soft and delicious slice of near nakedly drawn early
Marr-esque
musings, that in truth is quite perfect for these sultry days. Beyond
that the only thing you need know is that you ought to investigate Ben
Calvert further for yourself.”

Losing Today