We were lucky to catch up with Ben Barry recently and have shared our conversation below.

Ben, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Talk to us about building your team? What was it like? What were some of the key challenges and what was your process like?

In the beginning it was me, myself, and a dream! I began as a solo singer/songwriter playing at cafes and restaurants. When I began my journey of trying to elevate my music business it was an entirely new challenge. When hiring people for a regular job you need all the essentials, showing up on time, work ethic, basic physical ability, and strong intelligence. For music, you need to have all this and a completely expanded mindset. First is the basic need to always show up, then extreme dedication to the music, then it comes down to how well they can feel music. They need to express loyalty, dedication and put in hours upon hours of practice each week. Some musicians train years before they see the top of a stage. The recruiting process in the beginning was pretty easy. Anyone with a desire to play was hired on the spot. As time went on the process turned into auditions, with how well they performed in front of a large audience as a determining factor. The training process is dynamic, and a work of art. As they say, the only two professions that allow zero tolerance for mistakes are doctors and musicians (this is said metaphorically of course). But, being onstage requires a certain energy, presence and precision that truly captivates your audience. You must not only put in hours and hours of practice alone, but then follow it up with many more hours practicing as a band together creating fluid cohesion that appears effortless to your audience. If I had to start again I would not change a thing. Your faults and failures are simply stones on the path of life that carry you to where you need to go.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Yes, I’m a musician (singer/songwriter) with strong passion for quality live entertainment. My band is set apart because of our unique sound and the strength of my original music. I write songs with honest storytelling, digging deep into my background of growing up on remote ranches in the southwest.
My voice is best described as raspy and powerful, with quite a range and carrying emotional depth. Our performances are known for their strong authenticity and energetic instrumentation. My style is really all my own, landing somewhere near country and rock, not fitting entirely into either. I feel everyone should know we are extremely proud and passionate about our music, and we wish to keep it that way.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

I worked as a blue collar submersible pump-worker. I was playing almost every weekend somewhere new. It eventually became something that made enough income to switch over to doing music full time and focusing all my energy on it. The key milestones are to have enough start-up funding to stay afloat, and to book as many shows as possible.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Consistency and reliability! Always showing up early, be completely prepared, and doing what you say you’re going to do! Then our performances speak for themselves.
The other big one is social media. It has made a great impact on our reputation and has a far reach. People live and feed off of social media. If they see positive social media growth and escalation then they are more excited to come to shows and participate in your business.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.benbarrymusic.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/benbarrymusic/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100078203483325
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4oG3Anmv0eXgORFvzqyKSc?si=X1SAQCE9QH2YqpR59gLrtg

Image Credits

All Photos by Jerry Racicot