Born in 1985 among the potato fields of Fort Fairfield, Maine, Ben Kilcollins quickly became conversant with music through church choir and eventually after enough plunking around, piano lessons. He soon blossomed an allure for guitar and a hatred for the black and white keys he had previously attempted. Kilcollins started taking guitar lessons from local rock god of chaos; Jay McKenney. After learning and rocking out God Of Thunder by KISS, focus was turned to Kilcollins first attempts at original songs. Feeling the groove of uninterrupted musical communication and realizing the potential, McKenney encouraged and supported his songwriting and soon it became the heart of the lessons. Not long after, the band EUPHONY was formed that included Doug Ayoob on lead guitar and Tyler Bernaiche on drums, both under the instruction of McKenney. Headlining the Potato Blossom Festival Street Dance and playing consistently at Wizards Ballroom (yeah.. remember Wizards?) EUPHONY was widely recognized as "an awesome high school band!"
In 2003 Kilcollins attended his first year at Berklee College of Music in Boston.
In 2006 Kilcollins left Berklee School of Music to stop spending so much money.
In 2006 he moved to Portland, Me to get out of the big(ger) city. Through friends at University of New England, this Sweet Potato Boy began playing open mics at the college and soon found himself opening for Jason Spooner at a college event. In the following year he soon began headlining his own shows at UNE and on April 19th 2007 he recorded his one hour performance. He had developed a bigger taste for stage and dropped off his live CD at a few bars around Portland. Gaining great exposure and playfully connecting with audiences, Kilcollins was soon entertaining fans across southern Maine.
Halloween 2007 marked the release of his first album Homegrown, which was recorded with only a single vocal mic and included the first songs he had ever written. Homegrown didn't stick to any form and the songs had no correct order but somehow captured the ears of many passerby's.
Summer of 2008 presented new recording equipment and plenty of kicks to the rear by fans to deliver more music. In that spirit, Wouldn't Mind, an acoustic 5 song EP, was released in June. The EP included three songs from his first album rethought and rerecorded for a more powerful and intimate experience. Two new songs were the main focus of the album; Big White Sail and the title track; Wouldn't Mind. This album gained great exposure and radio play in Maine and New Hampshire.
Fall of 2008 found bandmates to play with. In December the band named "Kilcollins" finished it's first show as a cover band. For the next year and a half they would continue to become one of Portland's leading cover bands, headlining major events, holiday hootenanny's, weddings and private parties to boot.
Cut to 2010... balancing solo and band shows, Ben finally finished his first fully instrumented album named "Where the Clouds Will Meet." With help from local percussion guru Shawn Boissonneault playing drums, Ben played all other instruments and released his third album of indie rock infused with romantic comedies on August 20, 2010.
2011 marks the release of "Everything is Pretty" a seven song LP which has thus far picked "Baby Blue" as it's first radio single. be listening!
Currently Kilcollins is playing shows promoting his latest album.
Want to be part of history? get your hands on his new album and make your way to a show.
In 2003 Kilcollins attended his first year at Berklee College of Music in Boston.
In 2006 Kilcollins left Berklee School of Music to stop spending so much money.
In 2006 he moved to Portland, Me to get out of the big(ger) city. Through friends at University of New England, this Sweet Potato Boy began playing open mics at the college and soon found himself opening for Jason Spooner at a college event. In the following year he soon began headlining his own shows at UNE and on April 19th 2007 he recorded his one hour performance. He had developed a bigger taste for stage and dropped off his live CD at a few bars around Portland. Gaining great exposure and playfully connecting with audiences, Kilcollins was soon entertaining fans across southern Maine.
Halloween 2007 marked the release of his first album Homegrown, which was recorded with only a single vocal mic and included the first songs he had ever written. Homegrown didn't stick to any form and the songs had no correct order but somehow captured the ears of many passerby's.
Summer of 2008 presented new recording equipment and plenty of kicks to the rear by fans to deliver more music. In that spirit, Wouldn't Mind, an acoustic 5 song EP, was released in June. The EP included three songs from his first album rethought and rerecorded for a more powerful and intimate experience. Two new songs were the main focus of the album; Big White Sail and the title track; Wouldn't Mind. This album gained great exposure and radio play in Maine and New Hampshire.
Fall of 2008 found bandmates to play with. In December the band named "Kilcollins" finished it's first show as a cover band. For the next year and a half they would continue to become one of Portland's leading cover bands, headlining major events, holiday hootenanny's, weddings and private parties to boot.
Cut to 2010... balancing solo and band shows, Ben finally finished his first fully instrumented album named "Where the Clouds Will Meet." With help from local percussion guru Shawn Boissonneault playing drums, Ben played all other instruments and released his third album of indie rock infused with romantic comedies on August 20, 2010.
2011 marks the release of "Everything is Pretty" a seven song LP which has thus far picked "Baby Blue" as it's first radio single. be listening!
Currently Kilcollins is playing shows promoting his latest album.
Want to be part of history? get your hands on his new album and make your way to a show.
