OLD SEA BRIGADE Tickets

A season of change informs the seven tracks on Part 1.

“Five years ago, my life looked so different,” he observes. “I didn’t even know where Gothenburg
was on the map. If you told me I’d be living in Sweden with a family of my own, I wouldn’t have
believed you. So, the title, ‘If I Only Knew’, is fitting. This record was made after getting married
and becoming a dad. It was a lot to process. It’s amazing, though. I always just let whatever’s
happening reflect in the songs.”

Such reflections have defined the music of Old Sea Brigade since 2016. Listeners have followed
along as Ben effectively journaled his life aloud across projects such as Old Sea Brigade EP
[2016], Ode To A Friend [2019], All The Ways You Sing in the Dark EP [2020] with Luke
Sital-Singh, Motivational Speaking [2021], and 5AM In Paradise [2022]. His catalog has quietly
generated hundreds of millions of streams anchored by “Love Brought Weight,” “Tidal Wave,”
“Hope,” and “Call Me When You Land” [with Luke Sital-Singh]. Beyond inciting the applause of
Boston Globe, Brooklyn Vegan, Consequence, No Depression, Uncut, Under The Radar, and
more, he made his national television debut with a stunning appearance on CBS Mornings
“Saturday Sessions.”

For If I Only Knew, he reteamed with some of his closest creative confidants co-producers
Jeremy Griffith and Owen Lewis. Over the course of three weeks, they recorded the project in
Sweden for the first time.

“We made some great memories together, and we really defined the sound in my studio,” Ben
smiles. “They challenge me in all of the right ways. We talked a lot about the differences of
working in Sweden versus Nashville. Society seems less stressed in Europe. The Swedes have
a saying, ‘Don’t be too happy or too sad. Keep everything down the middle’—which is what we
tried to do.”

He initially teased this era with “Polygraph.” Right out of the gate, it resonated with listeners. On
its heels, the single “Heaven In The Right Light” layers dreamy piano and lightly strummed
guitar over an airy backbeat. Ben’s delicate delivery echoes on the hook, “Heaven in the right
light, so strange, wonder what you might find.”

“I was listening to a lot of José Gonzáles, and I wanted to write a soft number,” he says. “We
made a loop out of different drumbeats. Jeremy suggested a key change, and we pulled it off.”

On “Rest Assured,” loose guitar gives way to swooning strings in the wake of a lush and
lovestruck refrain, “Rest assured that I’m on your side. The rest is yours, and you’re all mine.”

“It’s a no-frills, very intentional song about love—as if there aren’t enough,” he laughs.

Synths murmur through a haze on “If You Had To Ask,” while a lilting piano crescendo carries
the song towards a sonic exhale. Then, there’s “Real Life.” Acoustic guitar brushes up against a
glitchy beat, and a moment of acceptance crystallizes on the chorus, “I guess it’s real life. If it
worries you, leave it alone.”

“The lyrics were really stream-of-conscious,” he says. “The message is just let go and trust the
process. Focus on what you can control and do your best. I’m a firm believer everything will
work itself out, and the song reflects this narrative.”

The finale, “The Tourist,” revolves around stark acoustic guitar, grainy beat-craft, bright flute,
cinematic strings, and his so-grizzled-it’s-beautiful timbre. It ends on a gentle realization, “The
days of being strangers now are gone.”

“It was inspired by feeling like a tourist when I got to Sweden,” he says. “It’s not a bad thing, but
most of the time, I do feel like a tourist.”

Ultimately, Old Sea Brigade’s music is just as endearing as his life is.

“Old Sea Brigade has been my creative outlet for so many of my formative years as an adult,”
he concludes. “The catalog is there to document how I felt in all of these changes and normal
events that followed me around for the last eight years. I’m incredibly grateful for this life. I
wouldn’t have met my wife if it wasn’t for Old Sea Brigade. It’s the reason I came to Sweden. It’s
the reason I’m a dad. It’s the reason I’ve met so many of my friends. These relationships are just
as important as the music is.”