Abbotsford singer-songwriter Ben Cottrill has released a new song.
Cottrill says Favoreau is a folk-Americana tune that draws inspiration from the greats like John Prine and Kris Kristofferson.
He performed all the instruments himself, including the pedal steel guitar that he taught himself over the winter. The artwork for the song was hand-painted by local musician and artist Tyla Jones.
Cottrill was named the 2021 Folk Artist of the Year at the Fraser Valley Music Awards. His last album sold out its initial run of vinyl and CD copies after around 400 shows since 2021.
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He next performs at the Canada Day celebrations in Kent in the morning and in Chilliwack in the evening.
Cottrill said that since the easing of COVID restrictions in 2021, local venues like Trading Post Brewing, Old Yale Brewing, and other spots in the Fraser Valley have shown “tremendous support” by hosting lots of live music.
”This has led to a remarkable boom in the live-music sector, with more musicians finding work and venues hosting performances like never before in this area,” he said.
Cottrill, who plays multiple instruments, has many years of busking, touring and songwriting under his belt. His first break came with a spot in the Canada’s Walk of Fame Emerging Artists’ Program in 2015, when he was named among seven winners selected from 300 submissions.
He also earned a Fraser Valley Music Award nomination in 2017.
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Cottrill competed in 2019 on the CTV music series The Launch, where he vied for a chance to record an original song under the mentorship of Vancouver legend Bryan Adams, Quebec pop star Marie Mai, and Scott Borchetta, the music industry icon who discovered Taylor Swift.
Cottrill did not win, but he described the experience as a “brilliant foray into the mainstream music and media business.”
Favoreau is available on all major platforms, including at lnk.bio/bencottril