Ben Wright Smith Premieres "In Parallel"

Features
By published

At only 25 years of age, Melbourne's Ben Wright Smith has an impressive number of musical accomplishments under his belt.

After a string of acoustic folk / rock releases which sparked the imagination of the international folk fraternity, Wright Smith found himself traveling the world and writing and performing everywhere from Melbourne to Los Angeles, Havana to Mumbai.

In 2012 Wright Smith wound up in Nashville where he shared stages at the Americana Music Festival with an enviable list of musical compatriots that includes Kasey Chambers and Justin Townes Earle.

Listen to his latest single "In Parallel" below, the title track from his forthcoming EP, out June 28.

The EP's first single, "If Living The Good Life Is Easy (Why Is This So Hard)," was co-produced with fellow Melbournian Oscar Dawson (Holy Holy, Ali Barter) and mixed and mastered by Andrei Eremin (Chet Faker). The video for the track was shot on location in beautiful Blairgowrie, Victoria by Charlie Ford and Josh McKie (Vance Joy, Courtney Barnett). Watch it below:

Ben Wright Smith will make his way to Nashville this summer where he will spend three months writing and recording his next LP with renowned producer Mark Moffatt (Keith Urban, Neil Finn, The Saints).

Find out more at benwrightsmith.com.

Acoustic Nation
Acoustic Nation

Acoustic Nation is written by Laura B. Whitmore, a music industry marketing veteran, music journalist and editor, who has contributed to Parade.com, Guitar World, and others. She has interviewed hundreds of musicians and hosts the She Rocks Podcast. As the founder of the Women’s International Music Network, she advocates for women in the music industry and produces the annual She Rocks Awards. She is the Senior Vice President of Marketing for Positive Grid, making the world safe for guitar exploration everywhere! A guitarist and singer/songwriter, Laura is currently co-writing an album of pop songs that empower and energize girls.

More about music releases

“If any song can unite all generations of rock guitar fans, this is it”: March 2025 Guitar World Editors' Picks

"The BTO sound is BACK!!" Bachman-Turner Overdrive release first new material in over 25 years – and it features a Neil Young guitar solo

“There’d been three-minute solos, which were just ridiculous – and knackering to play live!” Stoner-doom merchants Sergeant Thunderhoof may have toned down the self-indulgence, but their 10-minute epics still get medieval on your eardrums
See more latest
Most Popular
A black-and-white action shot of Sergeant Thunderhoof perform live: [from left] Mark Sayer, Dan Flitcroft, Jim Camp and Josh Gallop
“There’d been three-minute solos, which were just ridiculous – and knackering to play live!” Stoner-doom merchants Sergeant Thunderhoof may have toned down the self-indulgence, but their 10-minute epics still get medieval on your eardrums
Patrick James Eggle is photographed in. his workshop with a vintage screwdriver in the foreground.
“For years, the only 12-string acoustics I got my hands on, the necks always pulled off after a bit. I earned a lot of money replacing them!” Why one of the UK’s most prolific luthiers is a bolt-on acoustic die-hard
A black-and-white photo of Lea Thomas with her T-style electric guitar
“I was writing songs from eight years old, but once I got a guitar I began to deeply identify with music… building an arsenal of influences”: How Lea Thomas uses guitars her dad built to conjure a magic synthesis of folk, pop and the ethereal
Sade Sanchez
“I liked that they were the underdogs. It was not the mainstream guitar. It was something that was hard to find”: Vox guitars deserve a second look – just ask L.A. Witch’s Sade Sanchez, who’s teaming hers with ugly pedals for nouveau garage rock thrills
Eric Clapton performs onstage with the Yardbirds in Brighton, England on June 11, 1964
“I suppose I felt that I deserved it for the amount of seriousness that I’d put into it. My head was huge!” “Clapton is God” graffiti made him a guitar legend when he was barely 20 – he says he was far from uncomfortable with the adulation at the time
John Sykes performs onstage with Whitesnake at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago, Illinois on November 10, 1984
“I was in a frenzy about it being trapped and burnt up. I knew I'd never be able to replace it”: After being pulled from the wreckage of a car crash, John Sykes ran back to his burning vehicle to save his beloved '76 Les Paul
Steve Stevens' Ciari Ascender
“It holds its own purely as a playable guitar. It’s really cool for the traveling musician – you can bring it on a flight and it fits beneath the seat”: Why Steve Stevens put his name to a foldable guitar
Andy Fairweather Low poses with his Gibson guitars
“I wanted to play more, and it was inappropriate with Eric or Roger. I was not the lead guitarist, and I wanted to be”: Clapton, Waters, Satriani and me – Andy Fairweather Low on his greatest collaborations and finally taking center stage
Margo Price Gibson J-45
“It’s one of the most beautiful, living, breathing pieces of art – all the grime has just aged into the wood”: Margo Price on playing Willie Nelson’s Trigger, growing up with Gibson and bringing her signature J-45 to life
Johnny Marr sits against a brick wall and plays his new Martin M7 seven-string acoustic guitar
“I’ve got a friend in a well-known band, and he says Martins have unnecessary bottom-end. My retort was always: ‘Well, you need to learn to play properly’”: Johnny Marr on the magic of his 7-string signature Martin – and his fight with capo addiction