Rising Stars: Meet Ben Spotswood of Atlanta

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ben Spotswood.

Hi Ben, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Music has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. Singing in church, school plays, long drives with the radio on. I took piano and guitar lessons growing up, but it wasn’t until I was 16 that something clicked and I actually committed to it. That was the turning point.

I grew up on the Alabama Gulf Coast in Fairhope and spent college playing in a band with my brother in Mobile. After that I moved to Austin, spent a few years sharpening my craft at open mics all over the city, and played a showcase at South by Southwest in 2019. Eventually Atlanta pulled me in, and this city has been good to me. Played roughly 100 gigs in 2025, a couple finalist finishes at Eddie’s Attic’s songwriter nights, and got my first original singles out into the world.

I write Americana music, southern storytelling with a rock backbone. The short version is: I grew up on Dave Matthews Band, country, and southern rock and never really got over it.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Definitely not. It’s been smooth to a point: I’ve always known pursuing music is meant for me. There have been plenty of setbacks along the way.

I left my job in 2020 to pursue music full time in Austin. Little did I know a week later the COVID 19 lockdowns would be in order. This was the first major setback with others sprinkled in along the way. Every full-time creator or business owner knows ups and downs are part of the game. Learning is a pre-requisite. It’s kind of like a success-tax for getting to do what you love.

Fast forward to 2025, I found more opportunity in Atlanta to pursue music full-time, and decided to leave the corporate world to focus on music. That decision has come with its fair share of difficulty, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world. There’s nothing like the feeling that you’re doing what you’re meant to do.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m a musician, songwriter, and live performer. My music falls somewhere in the Americana lane, but I’d say that’s open for interpretation. Thematically, I write about movement, responsibility, loss, and the defining moments that shape who we are and where we’re headed. I’m drawn to human disposition: what people carry, what they pass on, what they can’t seem to shake.

I’m proud of building something real from scratch more than anything. Played roughly 100 gigs in 2025, finished as a finalist twice at Eddie’s Attic’s songwriter nights, and have original music out on streaming with an EP on the way. It’s taken years of work to get here and it still feels like the beginning.

As for what sets me apart, I think it comes down to where I come from. I grew up in a blue collar family in southern Alabama, raised by two parents who instilled traditional values in me early. I’ve worked in the service industry, spent time in the corporate world, and eventually bet on myself to pursue this full time. Every part of that story lives in the music. I’m not writing from one narrow slice of life, I get to write from all of it.

Who else deserves credit in your story?
Above all else, my faith in God. Everything I have has been built on that.

My parents first and foremost, Jonathan and Kimlyn Spotswood. There’s no version of this story where I get here without them. They’ve been my biggest fans from the start and have never stopped pushing me to pursue this, even through uncertainty.

My family more broadly deserves a lot of credit too. My brothers (Jonathan and Jake Spotswood), grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins. I come from a long line of entrepreneurs and that backbone is in me whether I realize it or not. My older brother in particular has been a huge influence on my music since I was young. Him and my mom are largely responsible for my taste.

On the music side, Francisco Vidal is a living legend in Atlanta and meeting him when I did changed things for me. I’ve learned more from him than I could put into words. The guys I’ve been recording with, Guilherme De Lima, Daniel Levi, and Eduardo De Lima, have all played on my recent singles and brought something to those recordings I couldn’t have gotten anywhere else.

I also have to mention a couple of finance professors at Spring Hill College, Anindya Biswas and James Larriviere, who shaped how I think about building something sustainable. Philosophy was another big part of my time there and that’s crept into my songwriting more than I expected. And years of baseball coaches who taught me discipline and how to compete.

On the personal side, my partner Cami. She’s an artist, entrepreneur, and an incredible creative force. Getting to build alongside someone like that is a blessing.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://spotswoodmusic.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/spotswoodmusic/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/spotswoodmusic/
• Twitter: https://x.com/spotswoodmusic
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@spotswoodmusic
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3biCmoxdFJuiZnLbpBEjtZ?si=rb0j2WzgRuiN0zFQkwsrjg