{{Short description|Canadian musician}} '''Ben Sures''' (born December 29, 1967) is a Canadian roots musician who was a contributor to CBC Radio's ''The Irrelevant Show''.
== Early life == He is the son of ceramic artist Jack Sures and painter and illustrator Deborah Uman-Sures.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.stalbertgazette.com/article/20130116/SAG0302/301169968/0/SAG |title=Storytelling songsters double up at Arden | Arts & Entertainment | St. Albert Gazette |access-date=2014-03-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140306062609/http://www.stalbertgazette.com/article/20130116/SAG0302/301169968/0/SAG |archive-date=2014-03-06 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
A mostly-self-taught musician, Sures discovered the music of Robert Johnson at age 15 and devoted himself to the study of blues and roots.<ref name=reddeer>{{cite web |last=Michelin |first=Lana |url=http://www.reddeeradvocate.com/entertainment/Speaking_to_the_human_condition_222690551.html?mobile=true |title=Speaking to the human condition - Mobile Edition |publisher=Red Deer Advocate |date=2013-09-06 |accessdate=2014-02-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222144801/http://www.reddeeradvocate.com/entertainment/Speaking_to_the_human_condition_222690551.html?mobile=true |archive-date=2014-02-22 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
== Career == He spent close to a decade as an itinerant street musician and more than 20 years touring the Canadian coffee house and festival circuit both as a solo headliner and as a sideman for blues musicians such as Harp Dog Brown, Rita Chiarelli and Paul Reddick.<ref name=reddeer /> During that time, he developed a distinctive, quirky songwriting style marked by plain-spoken lyrics that often express unique takes on unusual topics.
He won the folk category of the 2005 John Lennon Song Competition with "Any Precious Girl", a compassionate-yet-unpatronizing song about a young woman with bipolar disorder.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jlsc.com/winners/2005a/winners.php |title=John Lennon Songwriting Contest |publisher=Jlsc.com |date= |accessdate=2014-02-09}}</ref> In 2006, he won the adult alternative album category of the International Songwriting Competition for the song, "Any Precious Girl".
His album, ''Gone to Bolivia'' made ''Now'''s Best of the Year lists in 2011,<ref>{{cite web|last=Greene |first=Sarah |url=https://www.nowtoronto.com/music/story.cfm?content=184486 |title=Sarah Greene's top ten albums | NOW Magazine |publisher=Nowtoronto.com |date= |accessdate=2014-02-09}}</ref> and contained the song "Columbus Sailed Here", in which Sures observes the transformation of third-world countries due to cruise ship tourism. Other notable examples of Sures' style are found on "High School Steps", on which he performs a tribute to Ray Davies of the Kinks by reflecting on the life of high school musicians who saw Davies as their idol.
Sures was the resident musician on CBC Radio's ''The Irrelevant Show''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/irrelevantshow/performers/ |title=The Irrelevant Show | CBC Radio |publisher=Cbc.ca |date=2010-09-10 |accessdate=2014-02-09}}</ref> He has been featured on CBC Radio's “Daybreak Alberta”, “Unreserved” CBC Canada / “Radioactive,” “Canada Live,” “Madly Off in all Directions,” and “Key of A”. Sures has also been featured on CKUA Radio's "The Celtic Show" and "Lunchbox with Grant Stovel" and reached the #1 place on the station's Top 30 in 2022.
Ben has toured extensively across Canada and held long-standing residencies at several major folk festivals, including the [https://www.winnipegfolkfestival.ca/ Winnipeg Folk Music Festival] (1988-2003), [https://www.nlfbsudbury.ca/ Northern Lights Festival Boréal] in Sudbury (2000-2019), the [https://www.islandsfolkfestival.ca/ Islands Folk Festival in Duncan], BC (1997-2019), and the Brandon Folk Music Festival (1998-2014). Other notable recurring festival performances include the [https://edmontonfolkfest.org/ Edmonton Folk Music Festival] (2003-2009), [https://www.filbergfestival.com/ The Fillberg Festival] in Comox (2004-2019), [https://edmontonstreetfest.com/ Edmonton Street Performer's Festival] (2010-2014), [https://www.edmontonjazz.com/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23853859174&gbraid=0AAAAA93MGBZ0mbfCXO5GivhipGxLsTDDv&gclid=Cj0KCQjwzqXQBhD2ARIsAKrIeU8BwnQatvSI0wSDunUy5zasUoGfvEDqINEOAZP0mG05BwCv34V3kFMaAmd9EALw_wcB Edmonton Jazz Festival] (2011), [https://bearcreekfolkfest.org/ Bear Creek Folk Festival] (2016) and [https://www.winterfolk.com/ Winterfolk Blues & Roots Festival] residency in Toronto (2015-2020).
His side projects include The Death Ballad Love Tellers, a song circle with fellow underground folk singers David P. Smith and Buba Uno, in which the performers challenge themselves to write murder ballads and perform them on stage.<ref name="reddeer" />
In 2018, Ben wrote a book, "The Boy Who Walked Backwards" published by the Manitoba First Nations Education Resource Centre and illustrated by Nicole Marie Burton. The book is a moving story about a young Ojibway boy Leo and his family in Serpent River First Nation. Leo's life turns to darkness when forced to attend residential school. Back home for Christmas, Leo uses inspiration from an Ojibway childhood game to deal with his struggles.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-10-13 |title=Ben Sures ~ The Boy Who Walked Backwards |url=https://www.slategallery.ca/events-calendar/tmr7edbexermt5ft45k5jxmb5tds8w |access-date=2026-05-18 |website=Slate Fine Art Gallery |language=en-GB}}</ref> ==Discography== *1995 – ''No Absolutes'' *1997 – ''Ooh Wah Baby'' *2001 – ''Live: Keep Fresh'' *2003 – ''Goodbye Pretty Girl'' *2008 – ''Field Guide to Loneliness'' *2011 – ''Gone to Bolivia'' *2013 – ''Son of Trouble'' *2018 – ''Poema Poematis'' *2019 – ''Live at the Yardbird Suite'' *2022 – ''The Story That Lived Here''
==References== {{Reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sures, Ben}} Category:1967 births Category:Living people Category:Canadian male singers Category:Canadian folk singers Category:Canadian blues singers Category:Canadian comedy musicians Category:Canadian male songwriters