Ben Rector: Indie Music’s Oklahoma Heartthrob
In 2010, Ben Rector captured the hearts of audiences young and old with his first album “Into the Morning.” Though not a big enough superstar to headline a tour right away, he combined his talents with other Nashville acts Steve Moakler and Andrew Ripp before diving into a co-headline tour with Drew Holcomb and The Neighbors. In September of the following year, Rector released “Something Like This” to similar success, started to tour on his own, and started to work alongside the likes of Needtobreathe, supporting their tour early in 2012. Fast forward through the release of “The Walking in Between” and “Brand New” in 2013 and 2015, respectively, and you have an artist who has grown year after year both in sound and in audience size.
On June 22, 2018, Rector released, “Magic,” debuting at No. 1 on Billboard’s Americana/Folk Albums chart. Throughout the preceding years, Rector tiptoed with varying degrees of singer/songwriter, covers, pop, and rock to reach this position of confidence and prowess over his niche in the music industry. Similar to the church-goer following and gravitation of acts like Drew Holcomb and The Neighbors and Needtobreathe, Rector has kept in-sync with this portion of his fan-base while branching out and pushing the boundaries to capture a wider audience than ever before. Seven of the songs on the “Magic” album now how several million plays each, drawing thousands of fans for each of the performances on the tour.
In Houston, his sold-out show to nearly 3,000 fans in Revention Music Center took place on a frigid Thursday evening in downtown. Before doors opened the line wrapped around the entire block with fans dressed in layers upon layers to get a front row spot that evening. Performing to such a high demand meant that openers, “The Band Camino” even had a packed house for their brief introductory set to the evening. Around 9:00pm, Rector made his way out to the stage in sports-arena-announcer fashion and dove straight into the setlist.
One major highlight of the evening includes his surprise appearance way up in the “nosebleeds” for a performance of “Forever Like That” off of his 2013 album “The Walking In Between.” The song began with Rector nowhere in sight until a spotlight pinpointed his location, up and to the right of the stage, seated in a fans lap with microphone in hand. Singing both to the fan himself and the audience down below, Rector had a huge smile on his face the entirety of the song – as did the audience. Midway through the song he continued to migrate through the crowd, hugging, posing for pictures, and embracing every high five along the way. He even noted to one fan “if the pic wasn’t good just let me know and I’ll swing back through.”
Also of note was the comical “Phintermission” that lasted two and a half minutes mid-set. In lieu of a traditional intermission, Rector and his team concocted the idea of a “Phintermission” in which fans had a moment to catch up on social media, text friends who they couldn’t find in the crowd, and just chat with a neighbor mid set. Understanding that nearly two-hours of music from one artist may be a bit much for the short attentions spans of many, the quick break from the concert was well embraced by all those in attendance.
As they say, too, “absence makes the heart grow fonder” and oh how the fans were fond of Rector’s return to the stage. The crowd burst into cheers upon his return and the stayed strong until the close of the evening. Understanding that encores are a bit of a gimmick in today’s performances, Rector informed the audience of his imminent return for two songs and no more at the “end of the night” – and he did just that. With only two shows following the Houston performance, it was evident Rector was leaving it all out on stage for his fans. Exiting the venue, one could overhear sighs of joy and happiness alongside conversations about previous shows and high anticipation for the next.
Photography by Marshall Heins II
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