Ben de la Cour

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Grammy-nominated Nashville-based artist Ben de la Cour is keeping to the edgy side in a genre that has become increasingly polished and pop-friendly, with songs that explore life’s murky corners and shadowy characters. His stark tales of heartbreak, supernatural menace and the ever-present spectre of death harken back to folk’s roots, making him a modern torchbearer of a classic sound.

From his first album in 2012 to his fifth and most recent, “Sweet Anhedonia,” released in 2022, Ben’s music charts the course of his life and the demons he has faced down, including stints in rehab. Despite his continuing struggles with the internal forces waging a war in his head, Ben’s stays in various institutions have added new perspectives to his music. The experiences made him increasingly empathetic to other people’s struggles, and that awareness shines on Sweet Anhedonia’s sharply-written songs. He doesn’t just sing about this way of life; he lives it too, dedicating his working hours between tours to his job as a clinical associate at a recovery center for teenage boys.

“Folk music has a long tradition of darkness,” he says. “And darkness is something I know a little bit about.”

Ben was named a Kerrville New Folk Winner shortly after the 2016 release of "Midnight in Havana" and began maintaining a regular presence on the road, playing more than 100 shows a year.

“Sweet Anhedonia”, his most recent record, is a gripping collection of Americanoir soundscapes haunted by crooked folk ballads, scorched-earth heartland rockers and even the occasional ode to love, hope and redemption. Bouncing between first-person narratives and sharply-written character studies, these songs radiate a bruised, battered energy, with Ben delivering each one in a voice that’s textured by years of hard touring and even harder living. He recorded the album with Jim White, a cult folk singer celebrated for his own Southern gothic sound.