Ben Van Bonn is a guitarist known for hypnotic live performances and an unorthodox command of American fingerstyle guitar. Born in California’s Antelope Valley, Van Bonn grew up moving frequently and playing his family's upright piano mostly unexposed to other music.
Over the summer in 2021, Van Bonn self-recorded his debut album, Myth of the Middle Rung, in a Victorian cellar closet under a lumber baron's 1887 home in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Anchored in the untutored methods of American primitivism, Myth of the Middle Rung's dark age atmosphere stems from childhood visits to archaeological sites and a bent toward early music.
Ben Van Bonn's second album, Further Than Thought, is the culmination of playing a rare guitar in an alternate C#m7 tuning for two years without singing. Further Than Thought was recorded in the sanctuary at St. Ann & The Holy Trinity Church in Brooklyn Heights.