Ben Rice, known for his soulful guitar skills and powerful voice, has been making waves with his genre-blending sound that pulls from blues, soul, R&B and rock. With his band, the PDX Hustle, Rice is set to bring a high-energy show to The Belfry in Sisters on Oct. 4. In this Q&A, Rice shares his musical journey, the evolving sound of his band and what's next for him and The PDX Hustle. Answers are edited for concision and clarity.
Source Weekly: Your early influences came from a mix of vinyl records from your parents' collections. Can you talk about how artists like Steely Dan, Al Green and Mississippi John Hurt shaped your sound?
Ben Rice: I grew up with my parents' record collection. My mom loved R&B and soul — bands like War, The Isley Brothers and Al Green – while my dad was more into rock, like Alice Cooper, Steely Dan and Thin Lizzy. That blend of soul and rock was a big part of my upbringing. Our first family concert was AC/DC, which was wild. My dad got me into guitar lessons young, and by age 10, I discovered blues and artists like B.B King, Steve Ray Vaughan and Robert Cray. I'd use my paper route money to buy blues compilation CDs, and that's when I found artists like Mississippi John Hurt and Muddy Waters. These influences became a part of my musical DNA. We mostly play original music now with covers sometimes for fun. Those sounds are still a big part of what we do.
SW: How has adding horns, vocal harmonies, piano and organ changed your live shows?
BR: About two years ago I was mostly playing as a trio. A mentor suggested I add keyboards and horns – it felt like a missing puzzle piece. Doubling the size of my band overnight, from three to six players, was daunting. But once we started playing together it was a blast. The sound is huge, and we can feature different elements – horns, keyboards and vocals. We have a broader range of musical colors to paint with and our songs feel more fully realized.
SW: What do you enjoy most about performing with a larger ensemble, and how was that transition?
BR: At first, it felt like wearing a new suit – I was still the same person, just gussied up. It took a little time to feel natural, but after rehearsing and playing together weekly, it became more at ease. Now it feels like a bunch of friends playing on stage and it's so fun. We push each other musically and appreciate what everybody brings. That camaraderie on stage extends off stage, too; we spend a lot of time laughing and goofing around together.
SW: You've played at a wide range of venues from small clubs to large festivals. How do you adapt your performance based on the venue or audience?
BR: The audience's energy plays a big part of that. If it's a high-energy crowd, we match that. For laid-back crowds, we slow things down and play more story-driven songs with softer volumes. In singersongwriter settings, we'll share the backstories of the songs. For The Belfry, we're planning on creating a fun and high-energy set. Angeline [Rhett], the owner, told us, "Let's have a big dance party!" So, we'll bring a lot of up-tempo tunes to keep the crowd moving.
SW: What's next for Ben Rice & The PDX Hustle?
BR: We're finishing up a six-song EP, and our first single will be released on Nov. 7 at Alberta Rose Theatre during a release show with The Colin Trio. We're also going to record another set of releases.
