Ben Bedford is a singer-songwriter from Springfield, Illinois now promoting his studio album, Lincoln's Man. The album was recorded in September of 2006 in Nashville, Tennessee and produced by former Nanci Griffith guitar/Dobro player, Chas Williams. With a degree in history from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Bedford's narrative songs transcend time and place while illuminating universal truths. In the title track, “Lincoln's Man,” Bedford illustrates the struggle of a southern boy who joins the Union Army against the wishes of his family. Among “gentlemen and rakes,” the soldier wrestles with loneliness, pride, fear and stoic acceptance of his duty. All the while, the young man knows, “the devil's out there pickin' bones along the timberline.” In “Migrant Mother,” Bedford brings to life the mysterious figure in Dorothea Lange's photograph by the same name. With reverence, Bedford serenades the woman whose “wearied look and worried way” succinctly encapsulated the sacrifice and suffering of the Great Depression. Recently, he has been touring the Midwestern U.S., toting his unique songs to intimate audiences in such cities as Madison, Wisconsin, Columbia, Missouri, and Champaign, Illinois. In May of 2007, Ben served as one of the invited professional writers at the Listening Room International Songwriting Retreat in Gotland, Sweden. Following the retreat, he completed his first tour of Sweden and Denmark. Some of Bedford's musical influences include Townes Van Zandt, Guy Clark, Gordon Lightfoot, Richard Shindell, and Patty Griffin. | |||
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Other artists from IL Randy Erwin Micah Walk Zach Berkman | |||
Uncommon Ground Past Show Dates | |||
| 2007-09-09 (400 days) | Tiff Jimber | ||
| Ben Bedford | |||
| Tim Hazen | |||
