21 year old singer/songwriter Benjamin Francis Leftwich released his debut album Last Smoke Before The Snowstorm and has already managed to fit in a slew of Irish dates in his brief career thus far. 

Leftwich plays Cork's Cyprus Ave in November and you can purchase your tickets through entertainment.ie/tickets

Leftwich spoke to John Balfe about how he doesn't describe his music as folk, the benefits of being a solo artist and his affinity for Bruce Springsteen.


You’ve been hailed publications such as diverse as NME and the Sunday Times as being the "new voice" of Brit-folk. Is a tag like that a burden or a blessing?

I don't really think my music is folk at all, so it's kind of a funny thing to write!

How old are the songs on Last Smoke Before The Snowstorm?

Some of the songs are four years old and others I wrote far more recently, the songs on the album cover quite a wide time span.

You’ve previously played with a band, Lights, but for the past few years you’ve struck out on your own. What caused you to seek the solo route as a preference to the band one?

I really like being solo because I have full control. Not only in terms of the writing, but also playing live, it's nice to be able to feel the vibe of a crowd and kind of play to that. I couldn't do that in a band.

Read the full interview here...