Ben Balmer (Goldpine opening)

The son of a classical pianist mother and a harmonica-playing father, music has been a  constant for Ben Balmer. He started playing harmonica at 13 in his hometown of  Ypsilanti, Michigan, and by 16 was playing guitar and performing club gigs across the region. 

Balmer’s early listening was as eclectic as it gets and encompassed everything from Bela  Bartok to The J. Geils Band. Over time, his musical influences expanded to include Fiona Apple, Taj Mahal, and Tom  Waits. He’d play along to his dad’s blues records, especially  Sonnyboy Williamson and Paul Butterfield. Following his dad’s lead, Balmer took harmonica lessons from Grammy Award-winning player, Peter “Madcat” Ruth. As a teenager, Ben began his 10,000 hours of live performances, singing in a local band (Comatose Collin) and playing harmonica for Motown legend, Martha Reeves.

Through a chance encounter in Nashville back in 2006, Benjamin and  Kassie Wilson were sure of each other from the start. “Kassie knew she  was going to marry me from the first time she saw me…and she was  right,” Ben gloats. Formerly known as My One and Only, the duo has  reimagined their “southern-soul,” “curious-grit” and emotionally honest  lyrics into Americana act, Goldpine.  Touring since 2016, they have been lessening the gap between music and  the audience by disclosing their stories behind the lyrics at every  venue along the way. From Kerrville Folk Fest main stage and 30A  Songwriters Festival to listening rooms throughout the United States,  Ben and Kassie have been offering their own brand of raw Americana to  audiences large and small. Having been recent winners of the 2022 Rocky  Mountain Songwriter Contest at the Red Lodge Songwriter Festival,  Goldpine continues to stay true to their vision from the beginning, and  stands out while doing so.