Rave Review for Benjamin Dakota Rogers “Better By Now” From Lonestar Time in Italy!
"Benjamin Dakota Rogers grew up in rural Ontario absorbing musical influences ranging from country music to folk, from blues to songwriters, building an intense musicality that in his "Better By Now" is expressed with great energy and poetry. Equipped with a voice rich in strength but at the same time of delicacy, capable of writing lyrics in which even "unconventional" topics are dealt with, such as mental illnesses, addictions, death and the pain of losing loved ones. Benjamin Dakota Rogers is able to combine roots and pop sensibility, giving life to an album with melancholy yet passionate tones and enjoyable selections where emotions are lavished on all eleven songs.
From the title-track that rightly opens the album with a catchy and very pleasant melody through stories that speak of storms (even inner ones) like in "'Til I Die", of pain and intensity as in "Home", of growth as an artist and as a man in "$ 7", of the loss of loved ones in "She Was A Singer", in the lively "Fare Thee Well" and in "Rockabye" and in western stories like in the clear "Mercy". Better By Now is characterized by a great deal of humanity and a heartfelt feeling in a succession of songs that leave their mark. Heart and soul. Benjamin Dakota Rogers new album is his best yet."
Remo Ricaldone - Lonestar Time - Italy
READ the Full Review HERE - Lonestar Time is a non-profit organization/webzine with the mission to spread Texas Music in Italy through the organization of concerts by American artists (especially Texans) and events of various kinds. The genres we promote are Texas Music, Alternative Country, Red Dirt, HonkyTonk, Americana, Roots, Texas Country and in general all the good music that comes from Lonestar State.
More About Benjamin Dakota Rogers album "Better By Now"
Benjamin Dakota Rogers - Scotland, ON GENRE: Folk | Folk Pop | Alternative Folk RELEASED: APRIL 5 - MAPL - SOCAN
CHARTING
FOLK DJ - TOP ALBUM #24 TOP ARTIST #31
RMR - #5 TOP 50 CONTEMPORARY FOLK, #4 TOP 50 CANADA #7 TOP 50 FOLK
AIRPLAY DIRECT - TOP 50 BLUEGRASS FOLK ALBUMS #20
!EARSHOT - NATIONAL FOLK/ROOTS/BLUES CHART #6
NACC - TOP 30 FOLK ALBUMS #25
DJs Airplay Direct CLICK HERE
One Sheet - Click HERE
Official Video - Click HERE
Dropbox Files Click HERE
Promoter/Reviewer/DJ – Prerelease Information HERE *INDUSTRY ONLY CONFIDENTIAL*
SERVICING - Airplay Direct | Roots Music Report | Folk DJ-L | Euro Americana | NACC | !earshot and available to all DJs by request. Contact Michelle for interviews, reviews, photos and Dropbox links - michelle@trespassmusic.org
"We cover a lot of acoustic singer-songwriters around here, so when we do feature one it has to be good. Rogers is talented. The way he cranks up the intensity of the vocal on the “really oughta know better by now” on the chorus reveals something deep and satisfying. It’s disturbingly personal....it’ll rip your damn soul out." EAR TO THE GROUND MUSIC
Benjamin Dakota Rogers made his highly anticipated return to the folk world with his brand new single, digitally released January 25. Better by Now, strips the genre down to its core and emotionally charges it with raw human experience, immediately earning a top 40single spot on the Airplay Direct Folk chart. With the release of his new single, this award-winning singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist folk-phenom proves he’s at the top of his game in every way imaginable.
Better By Now, the lead track, “a beautifully sad folk pop ballad” (Folk Roots Radio with Jan Hall) sets the tone, proving the depth and maturity of Benjamin coming of age, as he delves into the state we find ourselves while in a relationship and come to realize we “really ought to know better by now.” Cut two is an upbeat song featuring brilliant unbound violin bidding Fare Thee Well, as we realize we love someone but we need to move on. The third track leans into the love of dark starry midnights, reminiscing about Pretty Girls, and featuring haunting harmony with Meg Conti, the song paints a vivid landscape traveling town to town away from those we are far from.
’Til I Die leaves the listener feeling an ache of loss and a yearning to continue the search in the ocean “though she’s six feet in the ground” in these poetically gorgeous, yet grief-stricken lyrics and sorrow filled melody. Benjamin gives us a glimpse of his growing career as a musician in $7, the money needed, ironically, to continue carving his musical path singing “just need seven more dollars to ride that train.” Followed up by an interlude midway in the cd as Benjamin begs the Lazy Old Moon “bring me home safe to her” after fighting another man’s war.
Life is supposed to hurt, to make you feel, and Benjamin does just that in the gripping tale of Home “because if it doesn’t hurt when everything’s said and done and over with what was the fucking point.” Leading next to a reflective time laying in a field realizing friends and family will be missed as Benjamin’s career begins to take off, with instrumentation and vocals that soar in Rockabye. Bluesy, gritty folk storytelling lends further depth to the album in the next track about a fugitive being hunted by a Mercy (less) bounty hunter, inspired by a 1911 Rangers badge in Benjamin’s antique collection.
She Was A Singer is a song about a father telling his child about his Mother “in one of those old timey rock and roll bands” but she is gone. The final track, begins as a lilting, brutally honest love song launching into an energetic almost frenetic near end chorus with well-appointed harmonies and intense instrumentation buildup about living with mental illness and addiction: Saints And Sinners “you won’t find it in that bottle full of answers, that I found on the drug store shelf.”
TRACK LISTING
**=Recommended Songs (E)= Explicit
1.**Better By Now (3:48) (E Damn) 2.**Fare Thee Well (3:15) 3.Pretty Girls (4:40)
4.‘Til I Die (3:50) 5.**$7 (3:51) 6.Lazy Old Moon (1:21)
7.Home (3:18) (E-Fucking) 8.**Rockabye (5:07) (E-Damn)
9.Mercy (4:44) (E-Damn) 10.She Was A Singer (3:30) 11.Saints & Sinners (5:16)
ABOUT BENJAMIN DAKOTA ROGERS
"Benjamin Dakota Rogers found a passion and purpose in folk music after inheriting his Great-Grandfather’s violin at the tender age of seven. From budding musician to awe-inspiring performer, his love of creating meaningful music has taken the reins and garnered much attention from folk artists and enthusiasts alike. “Rogers’ unique voice, thought-provoking lyrics, energetic performances and dynamic fiddle techniques leave this up-and-coming musician in a class of his own.” – InSpades Magazine
With the release of his most ambitious project to date, Benjamin continues to redefine the genre with an infinite sound evolution that promises to deepen the path he’s already carved for himself for years to come. This is an album that can only be delivered from the honesty and grit of a farm boy’s hands. Hailing from the countryside of rural Ontario, Benjamin funnels his penchant for starry nights and nostalgia into his stylized folk sound, reaching far beyond to include influences of roots, blues and country music.
BENJAMIN DAKOTA ROGERS – BETTER BY NOW TOUR
*subject to change – Benjamin Dakota Rogers CHECK OFTEN FOR Full Tour HERE
MAY 17 FRI | Lady of the Lake | Brandon, MB Canada
MAY 31 FRI | Mills Hardware | Hamilton, ON Canada
JUN 1 SAT | The Music Hall Concert Theatre | Oshawa, ON Canada
JUN 3 MON | Rainbow Bistro | Ottawa, ON Canada
JUN 4 TUE | Court Concerts | Perth, ON Canada
JUN 5 WED | Rainbow Bistro | Ottawa, ON Canada
JUN 6 THU | Musiikki Café | Kingston, ON Canada
JUN 7 FRI | Kaffé 1870 | Wakefield, QC Canada
JUN 9 SUN | Plan b Lounge | Moncton, NB Canada
JUN 11 TUE | Cedar's Eatery | Charlottetown, PEI Canada
JUL 5 FRI | Shaika Café | Montréal, QC Canada
JUL 6 SAT | Signal Brewery | Belleville, ON Canada
ACCOLADES
2017 Folk Music Ontario - Songs From The Heart Award - The Soldier Song - WIN
2017 Unsigned Only International Songwriting Competition - Folk/Singer-Songwriter Category - WIN
2017 Unsigned Only International Songwriting Competition - 1st Place in “Triple Play: Get Exposed Online (Special Promotion)” Category - WIN
2017 Brantford’s Breath of Fresh Air Talent Contest - WIN
2017 Indie Week Canada Showcase - SEMIFINALIST WIN
2016 International Songwriting Competition - Looking For A Fight - WIN
Album Credits - MAPL - SOCAN
Produced by Dan Hosh
All songs written by Benjamin Dakota Rogers
Recorded & Mixed at Catherine North Studios (Hamilton, Ontario) by Dan Hosh
Additional engineering by Scott Peacock, Will Crann & Zach Gerber
Assistant Engineer James DeGeer
Mastered by Ryan Morey at Ryan Morey Mastering (Montreal, Quebec)
Managed by Chris Thompson at Subculture Music
MUSICIANS
Lead Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Nashville Guitar, Stomps, Violin, Banjo, Mandolin, Clarinet, Piano
-Benjamin Dakota Rogers
Electric Guitar, Nashville Guitar, Mandolin, Percussion, B3 Organ, Stomps, Chanting -Dan Hosh
Percussion -Scott Peacock, Samuel Keating, Mike Tudisco
Upright Bass -Peter Klaassen
Cello -Kirk Starkey
Piano -Jeff Heisholt, Mike Tudisco, Chris Raitt
Background Vocals -Chris Raitt, Meg Contini, Nate Daniels, Benjamin Dakota Rogers, Will Crann, Dan Hosh, Chris Thompson, James DeGeer
Pedal Steel -Burke Carroll
CONTACT INFORMATION
MANAGEMENT
Chris Thompson | Subculture Music | chris@subculturem.ca | (647) 689-6022 ext. 1
BOOKING (CANADA)
Matt Layne | Subculture Music | matt@subculturem.ca | (647) 689-6022 ext. 4
BOOKING (UNITED STATES)
Mike Kaiz | Strategic Touring | mike@strategictouring.com | (312) 399-3143
PUBLICITY (CANADA)
Sarah French | Sarah French Publicity | sarah@sarahfrenchpublicity.com | (416) 566-4188
RADIO - SERVICING, REVIEWS & INTERVIEWS
Trespass Music
Michelle Fortier - Canada, USA, World | michelle@trespassmusic.org | (519) 300-5954
Larry Ahearn - USA | larrya@trespassmusic.org | (610) 574-6276
SOCIALS
Website | Spotify | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Soundcloud