Meet Nashville’s Rising Star: Ben Chase
An Interview With Guernslye Honoré
Stay true to yourself: I think people can pick up what is real versus what is fake. Thinking back on my earlier story of trying to dress like a cowboy early on, I’ve had more success since I learned from that experienced and remained true to myself.
As a part of our series about Nashville’s rising stars, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Ben Chase.
Ben Chase is putting his stamp on Nashville’s country music scene with his Canadian blend of raw talent, authentic songwriting, and passion for performance leading the way.
Born and raised on Prince Edward Island, Ben left for Alberta to spend four years living, performing, and releasing his own original music — all while developing a high-energy presence on stages at The Calgary Stampede, The Cavendish Beach Music Festival, Big Valley Jamboree, and Country Thunder Alberta.
To date, Ben has already been featured on some of Spotify Canada and Apple Music Canada’s most prominent playlists. Having recently surpassed 2 million global streams, he has twice topped the Canadian iTunes charts, delivered multiple top 100 songs to Canadian country radio, and received notable industry awards and nominations including Fans’ Choice at the 2020 Country Music Alberta Awards.
Currently based in Nashville and poised to release his debut album, Ben Chase is embracing his growing Music City profile while thriving on making music that is relatable to his lifestyle and small-town roots.
Thank you so much for joining us in this series! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you tell us a bit of the ‘backstory’ of how you grew up?
I grew up on Prince Edward Island on the east coast of Canada. Being from an island, I spent most of my time growing up around the beaches, fishing lobster, and also playing music for our booming tourist industry in the summer as a young teen.
Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?
It’s funny. I was just 16 playing at the local legion when a booking agent from over 3500 miles away walked in as he was visiting the island for a wedding. After hearing me play, he approached me and said that if I really wanted to pursue music, he would help me get booked. We stayed in contact until I finished high school and after I moved across Canada to develop my music career, we started working together. I’ve been a full-time musician ever since.
Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
I’ve been lucky to have really solid support from my small town and home province since the day I left.
When I finally decided to release my debut single “All Over It” back in 2019, it was insane to see the support from people back home. I swear that everyone was texting everyone that they knew to go listen and download it. I had no idea what to expect and because of that support, I was able to earn the #1 single on the iTunes Canadian Country charts the day it came out, as well as have my first top 60 single at Canadian country radio. It’s crazy what a small town can do!
Can you share with us an interesting story about living in Nashville?
I’ve wanted to live in Nashville since I was 16. Unfortunately, as a Canadian, it is not easy to just move there, since there is a lot of paperwork involved.
One of my most interesting Nashville-related stories started before I moved there.
Back in 2018, I was playing at a festival in Canada where I met my good friend Keenan Date, who lives in Nashville. We instantly hit it off. Keenan was my guy to push me to make that move to the USA. He even hired me to play in his band to help me get a visa to move down. Since arriving in Nashville, I have been playing gigs with him.
In several ways, my life in Nashville today was made possible by a friend I made at a small festival up in Canada.
Can you share with us a few of the best parts of living in Nashville? We’d love to hear some specific examples or stories about that.
I love how hard people hustle here. They say iron sharpens iron, and it’s so inspiring to be in Nashville every day.
As an artist, there’s an energy around the city that’s inspiring. Being able to wake up surrounded by a bunch of other artists and writers — who are in such a routine of writing songs and improving their craft — really motivates me to become the best version of myself that I can be and allows me to continue making music that I believe in.
It has been said that our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
In my case, it was definitely wearing a cowboy hat!
When I moved to Alberta — a province full of rodeos — I didn’t know who I was as an artist, so I thought I should wear a cowboy hat, boots, and belt buckle. My skinny jeans also looked funny in those boots, for sure!
After some soul-searching, I realized I should stay true to my roots. The truth is that I am an East Coast boy who grew up by the ocean and loves to play country music. A few years later — after a great show in Alberta — a cowboy was impressed by the good country songs I knew. I explained that I’m a “Saltwater Cowboy” and our chat inspired me to write a song of the same name, which became my most recent single.
The lesson is to take pride in who you are and where you come from.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
For me, that person is my grandfather, Alphy Perry. He has been bringing me on stage since I was only 2 years old to sing in front of crowds. He gave me my first guitar, my first gigs, and he taught me how to be an entertainer.
He is in his 80s now and I always wanted to find a way to give back to him. Recently, I had a chance to do just that. I was opening for Sam Hunt in front of around 10,000 people and I brought him up on stage to perform a song and to experience that feeling in his lifetime of what it is like to perform in front of such a massive crowd. It was great time for both of us.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?
This year, I’ve already released four singles (“Call Me Drunk”, “Fading”, “Small Town Talking”, and “Saltwater Cowboy”). At this moment, I am working on the biggest project of my career, which is the fall release of my debut album, “That Was Then, This Is Now”. I’m really proud of this record and when it’s out, I’ll be playing more live shows in The Maritimes and in Alberta.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why?
1. Stay true to yourself: I think people can pick up what is real versus what is fake. Thinking back on my earlier story of trying to dress like a cowboy early on, I’ve had more success since I learned from that experienced and remained true to myself.
2. Take lessons: I didn’t give that much thought to taking guitar and vocal lessons until I moved to Nashville. I quickly realized that there are many more talented people than me in this town and to really be able to succeed here, I needed to improve. Having taken lessons now, I see the impact. It shouldn’t matter if you are the best in the world. There is always room for improvement.
3. Success doesn’t happen overnight: It may look at times like people just come out of nowhere, but that’s only because the rest of the world hasn’t seen them before. The artists I know who have reached another level of success have been working for years for that moment.
4. Slow down and enjoy the journey: Stop thinking about what’s next and just focus on where you are today. There are people who would give everything to be in your position right now. Having started in Prince Edward Island, then moved on to Alberta, and now Nashville, I’ve appreciated the experiences, the people, and the lessons that have been part of each stop on my journey. Those moments can keep you going when things are tough, so the ability to appreciate where you are and where you’ve come from is so important.
5. Take care of yourself: Being a travelling musician can be tough on the body — both physically and mentally. For artists, it has a direct impact on performance and creativity. I’ve learned quicky that it is super important to develop healthy habits, especially on the road, to make sure that I’m at the top of my game.
Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?
I think the most important thing is to surround yourself with people who give you good energy. I’ve learned in the last year of writing and touring about how important it is to be around people like that.
When I get in a writing room or on stage with others who are all so excited to be doing what we love together, it makes whatever negative energy I had that day instantly go away.
Positive energy from like-minded people brings out the best in me and helps me to avoid burning out.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
Ask a musician to play an original song during their live set.
For the longest time — being a guy who started playing in cover bands — it took lot of confidence for me to start playing my originals in my live shows. But my favorite thing if I was playing a gig was when someone in the audience asked me to play an original song. It gave me so much confidence to sing and deliver that song.
Want to make a musician’s day? Do exactly that.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog.” — Mark Twain
This quote can mean a lot of things, but to me it means you can get anything you want if you work hard enough for it. Being an independent artist only motivates me to keep working harder and harder.
Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. :-)
Hands down, that would be Kenny Chesney. Being an island boy, there has never been an artist I look up to more than Kenny. I can say that his Nashville show last year was the best concert I have ever been to, and I’d love to get to know him as I think we would hit it off and be friends!
How can our readers follow you online?
They can discover my music through all digital streaming platforms and follow me on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and X!
This was very meaningful, thank you so much! We wish you continued success!
Thank you for having me!
