Ben Lee walking through the crowd onto the stage with his guitar strapped to his back conjures the feeling of an old friend visiting for the evening.
As he unpacks his music and life story before guests seated at Sublime Farm and Brewery in Gympie on a Friday evening in March, that sentiment continues to grow.
In ‘On Tour…Always’, Lee delivers his craft to 40 regional locations in Australia in 2026. This tour, he says, is just what he imagined being a musician would be: ‘Night after night, sweaty, a little chaotic, unpredictable’.
Humble songs
Ben draws on his lengthy history in the Australian music scene to swing from humble songs that established him on Triple J radio to new material revealing self-growth and maturity.
Ben’s voice is familiar and comforting and for good reason. He has been on the Australian music since being a member of Aussie band Noise Addict at the tender age of 14. It is his solo music that has sound-tracked much of the past 32 years.
Ben Lee has been on the Australian music scene for over 30 years. IMAGE supplied
‘We’re all in this together’ has been described as the unofficial soundtrack of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite a bit of overexposure on TV and ads, the song still unites the audience with its beautiful message wrapped in pop delight.
Lee says the song is a ‘much needed balm… that changes according to what is going on in my life’.
This is why Ben Lee remains relevant: the man and his music change with us. He isn’t afraid to admit to past mistakes when he sings: ‘When I was younger, I was an arsehole.’ He laces this tune with his famous hopeful spin, ending with: ‘It’s never too late to change.’
Optimistic tone
Performing his 2024 song ‘Positive energy’, Ben proves he is capable of creating new music to unite and uplift listeners. He laments the pressures and weight of modern-day life and the suffering and sadness we all know. Thirstily we drink from his optimistic cup when he suggests we can take a hit of his positive energy.
Lee’s music is not reliant on bells and whistles, lighting or backing vocals. His soft, sweet and melancholic performance of ‘Cigarettes will kill you’ is just pure harmony between voice, guitar and lyrics. The audience lap it up.
Relatable
He is genuine and authentic as he reveals to the audience his desire to continue performing, because it’s his calling. Careful not to present the life of a touring musician as sunshine and rainbows, Ben sings of the familiar voices plaguing so many of us: ‘But the challenge of self-doubt – am I too damaged to be the whole package?’. It’s this type of brutal honesty that makes Lee so damned relatable.
As a parent, I thoroughly enjoyed ‘Crooked Tree’, a song written in response to Ben’s daughter questioning why he wasn’t like other parents. ‘Girl, your Daddy is a crooked tree’ he sings as he differentiates himself from the other parents who grow straight and tall. This song is tender and touching and reveals a vulnerable side to Lee and offers consolation to all the other crooked trees growing in the forest.
This gig was, like the man himself in t-shirt and jeans, unpretentious and real. Lee’s warm, honest and self-deprecating stories and music leave me feeling very lucky that he came to visit for the night. I find myself breathing a sigh of relief that he is ‘Still here singing my songs, loving everybody in a world gone wrong’. Heaven knows we all need it now more than ever.
Ben Lee is touring Australia throughout March.
