Ben Sollee

Kentucky-born cellist and composer Ben Sollee likes to keep moving. Following the release of his debut record, Learning to Bend, he has performed with the Charlotte Ballet, and traveled the United States by bicycle. An ardent supporter of sustainability issues, Sollee has ridden over 5,000 miles and has performed and spoken on sustainability at a number of festivals including South by Southwest Music (2011) and TEDx San Diego (2012). He has also worked to raise awareness about the practice of Mountain Top Removal Strip Mining in Central Appalachia, an issue discussed in his 2010 collaborative album Dear Companion.

Sollee’s music has appeared on TV shows like ABC’s Parenthood and in films such as Killing Season starring John Travolta and Robert De Niro. Within the past year, Soleee has complemented his musical releases with The Vanishing Point virtual reality app, film scores like Maidentrip, a technology-infused production of Harold and the Purple Crayon, an interactive sculptural installation called Livestream, and much more. Through the innovative facets of his artistic portfolio he teaches his audience that the modern artist has no boundaries.

About Naked Soul

Naked Soul presents performances from some of the country’s top singer/songwriters without microphones or amplifiers, as if the music were, acoustically speaking, naked. The musicians in the series draw upon the universal themes inherent in Himalayan art—spirituality, peace, tolerance, wisdom, compassion—on select Friday evenings.