Ben Beirs is an exceptional classical guitarist based out of beautiful charm city Baltimore. He is a multi-faceted talent whose titles include musician, teacher, composer, arranger, and duck pin bowler. He has been featured on the Dig before alongside his duo partner Maud LaForest for their work as the Duo Transatlantique. Moreover, Ben has been praised by the D.C. Examiner for being a "Brilliant young classical guitarist" and he is once again in the studio working on a second solo album.
The new album is entitled Widening Circles and in an attempt to defray the many costs of releasing this album he has created a Kickstarter page. I believe that this album and this artist are worth your time, consideration, and perhaps a few of your hard earned dollars. Ben Beirs is the quintessential 21st century musician/entrepreneur for undertaking repertoire which defies genre, for creating his own opportunities to be seen and heard, and for utilizing tools like Twitter, YouTube, and Kickstarter to promote, fund, and share his art.
For anyone who is not familiar with Kickstarter, here are the rules:
Kickstarter is the largest funding platform for creative projects in the world. Every week, tens of thousands of amazing people pledge millions of dollars to projects from the worlds of music, film, art, technology, design, food, publishing and other creative fields.
A new form of commerce and patronage. This is not about investment or lending. Project creators keep 100% ownership and control over their work. Instead, they offer products and experiences that are unique to each project.
All or nothing funding. On Kickstarter, a project must reach its funding goal before time runs out or no money changes hands. Why? It protects everyone involved. Creators aren’t expected to develop their project without necessary funds, and it allows anyone to test concepts without risk.
Each and every project is the independent creation of someone like you. Projects are big and small, serious and whimsical, traditional and experimental. They’re inspiring, entertaining and unbelievably diverse.
Ben Beirs is an artist I believe in. I also want to believe that a community of musicians, music fans, music bloggers, and hopefully soon to be music patrons can collaborate to help bring something new, unique, and beautiful into the world. Kickstarter gives us this opportunity. Check out his page, watch the video, and give what you can. You can also find more from Ben from both his Solo and Duo Official Webpages, as well has his twitter account.