Benjamin Booker

Fortunately for Booker – and rock fans – the musician ended up sharing his music with more than just family and friends. By last fall he was signed to ATO Records. Since then he’s released his debut album, played Lollapalooza, supported Jack White on tour, and appeared on “The Late Show with David Letterman.”

High Road Touring’s Matt Hickey was first introduced to Booker via a YouTube video of an acoustic version of “Have You Seen My Son?”

“I thought there was something unique and special about his voice and his delivery,” Hickey told Pollstar about the 25-year-old with the passionate, raspy vocals. “You can tell that he has some older influences in his music but there’s also a youthfulness to it.” He added, “It’s punk rock and blues … and boogie and all those things that make rock ‘n’ roll music so good. It’s a collection of all of those styles that he’s able to pull off.”

High Road Touring began booking Booker in February as a duo, alongside drummer Max Norton. The band now includes bassist Alex Spoto. 

The agency helped build Booker’s fanbase by establishing more of an awareness around the rocker’s home market.

“There are a lot of places you can play in the South but they take a little while to get going,” Hickey said. “They aren’t as easy to get going as say New York, Chicago or LA. You kind of have to visit Atlanta a few times to get a crowd there.”

Booker closes out 2014 with appearances at European festivals. A spring tour is planned in the Northwest and Midwest along with more festivals throughout 2015.

“It’s encouraging to see him go to places and when he returns, there’s more people there,” Hickey said. “He’s really building an audience. … He’s been working really hard and it’s nice to see his hard work pay off, even in a short amount of time.”