Review: Ben Howard at the Troubadour

For the last two sold out nights at the Troubadour, UK singer Ben Howard had the audience in musical awe. Born in West London, Ben Howard has this cool singer songwriter vibe that fits perfectly here on the West Coast. Ben is an avid surfer and mentioned to me last night how he took to the waves in Hermosa Beach on this trip.

Last night’s show started with today’s Morning Becomes EclecticBahamas guest as the opening act.

The young crowd seemed to know each of Ben’s songs and sang along throughout the night. Crowd favorites included the single “Old Pine“, the lyrically anthemic “Only Love“, the slow and emotional “Everything“, plus the perfect song to end the night, “The Wolves“, which had everyone in the audience singing “love, love love”. Check out the video for that track:

After a encore and what would seem like a standing ovation (in a standing only venue), Ben and his bandmates gathered in arms and in a classy move gave 3 bows to the audience. Outstanding!

His new record “Every Kingdom” is out now on Island Records and you can hear a live set from Ben on Chris Douridas’ show this Saturday at 1:20pm.

— Jason Kramer