Songwriter Sessions
Featured Artists: Benjamin Hunter & Kate Atwell
Katherine White Hall Atrium
Vashon Center for the Arts
Sunday, April 12th
1-3pm

Benjamin Hunter, a Seattle-based polymath, is an award winning multi-instrumentalist, composer, creative & culture advocate, social entrepreneur, producer, and educator. Benjamin plays in the internationally touring duo, Ben Hunter & Joe Seamons, as well as solo, his band, The Intraterrestrials, and with other local Seattle groups. In 2017, Benjamin composed music for a dance piece, Black Bois, that has received critical acclaim and most recently played at The Moore Theater in February 2020. He was a 2020 artist-in-residence for Seattle's On The Boards theater group. Benjamin was the recipient of the 2015 Governor’s Arts & Heritage Award, 2016 City Arts Magazine Future’s List Award, 2016 International Blues Challenge winner, the 2019 Gordon Ekvall Tracie Memorial Award, and a 2020 Artist Trust Fellowship Award recipient.

Kate Atwell. Twenty-seven years old. Folk-Americana. Born and raised on the Island, Kate grew up immersed in Vashon's wonderful music community. Kate’s played guitar since 10th grade with her instructor Daryl Redeker and began writing her own music through Vashon High School's Sharing the Stage performances. Some of Kate's most precious high school moments were her participation in the arts; opening for iconic Vashon artists, performing with friends, and dancing on summer nights to live music. These foundational experiences have launched a lifelong passion for songwriting, performance, and immersion in community art. Kate continues to write, building up a strong repertoire of her own music and developing a style filled with subtle nuances in both her guitar playing and lyrics. Her storytelling excels at using her clear and grounding voice to lure the listener in.