BIOGRAPHY
Over the last 6 years, Montrose, Arkansas native Ben Coulter, has made his mark as an independent country singer/songwriter. Coulter has traveled all over the South and Midwest, performing over 125 shows a year. Performing solo with an acoustic guitar, Ben has captured audiences with his signature style, Country Music…Delta Styles. Ben’s smooth vocals, raw guitar, and honest lyrics mesh into a bluesy country that has set him apart from the country music crowd. Reminiscent of Country artist before him, Coulter has vowed to play his own brand of music and achieve stardom the old fashioned way…..by working his way up one step at a time.
Ben began his performing career by singing and speaking at churches during his college years at the University of Arkansas at Monticello. He also led praise and worship bands for the collegiate ministries at UAM. Feeling the itch to perform for a career, Coulter moved to Branson, MO, in 2004 and performed there for 3 years. These years would see Coulter perform up to 6 days a week. This is also the time that Coulter began to find his sound of mixing Traditional Country Music with Delta Blues. Taking a big step in January of 2007, Ben moved to the “Country Music Capitol of the World”, Nashville, TN. It didn’t take long for Coulter to be noticed in Nashville. Coulter’s first week in town saw him hosting a writer’s night at the Crescent Café and Oyster Bar. This brought Coulter in the company of Grammy Award winner Anders Osborne, who called Coulter’s voice “big like a castle.” Coulter would go on to have his own night at the Crescent with 2-Tone Malone, a bluesman from New Orleans. Coulter also was a regular performer at Losers Bar and the Monday night writer’s night there. Coulter played many writers’ nights in Nashville at various venues, always leaving folks in awe with his style of music. Brandler Johnson, a former host at the writers night for the Hall of Fame Lounge, said Coulter’s “way of infusing a little Delta Blues into Country is fantastic. I am looking forward to hearing you play again.”Coulter returned to Arkansas from Nashville in June of 2007 to make a name for himself outside of “Music City.” Coulter saw his live appearances explode with his return from Nashville. Since his return, Coulter has performed at bars, restaurants, clubs, and festivals all over the South and Midwest. He has performed at some of the biggest festivals in Arkansas, including Riverfest, Toadsuck Daze, and the Pink Tomato Festival. He has had the opportunity to open for Confederate Railroad, Jeff Bates, and Little Big Town. He has been the headliner for many festivals such as the Heritage Festival, the Wiggins Cabin Festival, and the Armadillo Festival, among others. He has also become a regular at the “Jammin’ in the Delta” Blues Festival. Since his move Coulter has performed from Chicago, IL, to Shreveport, LA, and the “Legendary” Louisiana Hayride. He has also had the opportunity to play at the Midsouth Opry where Dixie Harrison called Ben “true country music talent.”
Since 2004 Coulter has built quite a resume. He has released 6 albums, 5 acoustic, selling around 6,000 units. He has over 40,700 visitors and counting on his official website - www.bencoulteronline.com. Coulter has over 3,300 fans that receive his Mailing List Newsletters. He has had over 28,700 views on his MySpace page with over 2,600 fans. His shows in South Arkansas have become legendary with large groups being turned away because there are no more seats, and long 5 hour sets with no breaks. There is no doubt that Ben’s style of music has caught on regionally and is getting ready to make a huge splash nationally. It’s a style that mixes the country of Merle Haggard and Johnny Cash with the blues of Muddy Waters and Son House…..a style called, “Country Music…Delta Style”.
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Full Name- Benjamin Luke Coulter (named after Star Wars characters)
Birthday - Oct. 1, 1980
Hometown - Montrose, AR
Nicknames - "Cuzz", "Ben-jammin", "BenDoe"(this one is from only killing doe deer for years),Mr. Boulter Coulter(that one's for you april)
Brothers - 2, Chris and Scutter
Sisters - 2, Kim and Audrea
Father - Raymond Coulter (deceased)
Mother - Kathy Coulter
Nieces and Nephews - 10, Callie, Payton(deceased), Colby, Megan, Caroline, Colten, Rebecca, Ashton, Blaine, Cody Ray
Favorite Sports Teams - Arkansas Razorbacks (wooo pig), St. Louis Cardinals
Heroes - Jesus, My dad, Ozzie Smith, Merle Haggard
Musical Influences- Merle Haggard, Hank Williams Sr., Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, Buck Owens, George Strait, Alan Jackson, Garth Brooks, John Denver, Bob Wills, Tommy Wilson, and all the pickers at Portland Camp, Son House, Muddy Waters, Lightnin Hopkins, John Lee Hooker,
Relationship Status - In a Relationship
Dream Women - I've got her already
Idea of perfect woman - a woman that loves Jesus, the Arkansas Razorbacks, Merle Haggard, and the St. Louis Cardinals, with a great smile and sweet voice(i'm a big smile and voice guy)
First steady gig - Shorty Smalls in Branson
First job - Portland IGA in Portland, AR
Favorite song - "All i know" a gospel song by the isaacs
Favorite movies - Lord of the Rings, Crossroads(not the Britney Spears one), all the Rocky movies(except 5), Crossfire Trail, Tombstone, Outlaw Josey Wales, Lonesome Dove, Last of the Dogmen
What i wanted to be when i was little - Pro baseball player
Favorite baseball player of all time - Ozzie Smith
Favorite meal - Deer meat , mashed potatoes with gravy, mustard greens, pinto beans, green beans, prolly peach cobbler for desert or mama's chocolate chip cookies
Hobbies(besides music) - hunting, fishing, baseball, and anything to do with the Razorbacks
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COUNTRY MUSIC...DELTA STYLE
The Mississippi Delta has always been known for it's music. The Delta blues have captured people's attention for over many years. Now the delta has become the birth place for another type of music, Delta style country music. Born and raised in the little ,delta town of Montrose,AR, in the Southeast corner of Arkansas, Ben Coulter has come up with a style all his own. Mixing country, early rock and roll, and delta blues, Ben has come up with a "raw, simple, and real sound" that has been called, "Country music...delta style".
Montrose,AR, pop. 500, is located in the middle of the Arkansas side of the Mississippi Delta. In every direction around the town there are flat cotton fields that run for miles and miles. In those little delta towns everything revolves around the cotton.... Running right through the heart of Montrose, and about 100 yards from the house where Ben grew up, is a North-South running train track. The train runs here about every 30 minutes, shaking everything in the houses, and is almost like a fellow citizen of Montrose.
Ben takes these experiences of growing up in the delta, and turns them into music. His songs consists of trains, cotton fields, religion, love, and life in general. His songs aren't hard to understand, they are simple, as the people are down in the delta. His songs consists of just him and his acoustic guitar, reminiscent of early blues records. Ben takes a hard acoustic style pickin, strong heartfelt lyrics, and with a rich, smooth voice, takes you to the traintracks, to the cotton fields, and makes you feel as if you know what's it's like to live in the delta, to walk in Ben's shoes... Fans of country, gospel, early rock, or blues, will all be sure to love Ben Coulter and this Delta Style Country Music.....
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