Smith & Brewer

When Joan Armatrading launched her ‘local talent’ search for acts to support her on tour in 2012, she was looking for original artists from all over the UK to showcase their work. Ben Smith and Jimmy Brewer were two of the acts chosen, and in 2015 she called them back to support her again on her first ever solo tour. They met each other at an industry showcase organised by Joan, and started writing together at the suggestion of some publishers there.

Here is a short clip from their performance at Fairport’s Cropredy Convention 2018.

Brewer’s inspiration for his song-writing career came from his desire to move beyond his rural upbringing and follow in the footsteps of the musicians who shaped his interest in playing as a young child, including The Rolling Stones, Elvis Presley and The Everly Brother’s.

Smith has also been writing and playing from an early age, and despite his original desire to learn the banjo being thwarted, he threw himself into the guitar in an effort to emulate his musical heroes: BB King, John Martyn, Jerry Reed and the Grateful Dead.

In the song “Isabella” you can really hear how talented Ben and Jimmy are as well as how natural it appears to be.

“There’s a timelessness to the neatly crafted songs that display their musical interplay and superb harmony vocals.”

– R2 Magazine

Their voices complement each other in a way that is redolent of some of the greatest musical partnerships, their playing styles intertwine beautifully and the songs they write combine traditional storytelling with a modern twist that will leave you humming them for days.

Lets see what Ben Smith has to say about Vocalzone!!