It’s been a whirlwind year for Canadian-American singer-songwriter grandson. He toured with Imagine Dragons, crossed Canada with Avril Lavigne, and just wrapped up a European tour. He’s wrapping up the concerts at the Big 4 Roadhouse on the Stampede Grounds on July 17th. We caught up with the man born Jordan Benjamin on a break from his home in LA to talk about his career, activism, and connection to fans.
"I spent the whole year on tour across north America and across the beautiful continent of Europe. I was just in Canada with Avril and, and shortly after that, I made my way across Europe and got to connect with people all over the world, singing songs together. It was really fun."
Touring with high profile artists raises his profile. Often at concerts people trickle in during or after the openers for the headliner. At Lavigne’s recent 2-night stint in Calgary, fans packed the Jubilee Auditorium for both grandson and first opener Mod Sun, and knew the songs, singing along and cheering.
"You never know from city to city or artists to artists, how much fans will embrace the opening band. It felt really relieving to know we had some fans in the stands, but also one thing that really strikes a core with me about this year is that many of the songs that people know best of mine from songs like, like Dirty and Rain, which were singles mine that were released during the pandemic. For a lot of artists of different mediums, the pandemic really challenged things. The question of is this being received; is this being heard? Not being able to have that physical connection or reaction to your work for so long was quite disorienting. And while phone engagement is nice and people liking your pictures and following and clicking your articles is nice. There’s just no substitute for real human beings. Connecting with your work and reminding you that they too have felt what you feel and are here with you. To be able to come out as an opener no less, and be reminded that this work that we did during the pandemic did ultimately impact people in such a way that they’re buying tickets and singing along was very, very rewarding."
Right before the tour…
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