Ben Howard

British singer-songwriter Ben Howard's folk music roots figure heavily in his brief career. As a child growing up in Devon, Howard used to listen to his mother's albums, digesting such artists as Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Richie Havens and the psychedelic balladeer Donovan. After a brief stint studying journalism, Howard decided to pursue his dream of a music career and played the clubs in the beach towns of his native Devon, looking for his break. The surf community in the United Kingdom proved to be a big boon for Howard who garnered recognition playing to packed audiences in various seaside towns. Howard gained enough recognition to self-release his debut EP "Games in the Dark" in 2008, followed by two more EPs, “These Waters” in 2009 and “Old Pine” in 2010. He eventually built a reputation throughout the United Kingdom and signed to Island Records, releasing his debut full-length record entitled "Every Little Kingdom" in 2011, followed by a live EP, "Ben Howard Live" in 2011 and "The Burgh Island E.P." in 2013. After releasing his debut album, "Every Little Kingdom" in 2011, Howard began to earn recognition on the music charts. The album, released in October, 2011, debuted at number seven on the UK album chart, and selling more than one million copies globally. "Every Kingdom" also allowed Howard to win two Brit Awards in 2012 for British Breakthrough and British Solo Male Artist. Howard's follow-up effort, “I Forget Where We Were”, was released in October 2014 through Island Records. It was produced by Howard and has drummer Chris Bond at Start Point Farm Studios in Devon. An appearance at South by Southwest early in 2012 confirmed the band's growing popularity among all facets of the music industry.