#NewMusicTuesday: Ben Rector

Ben Rector wasn’t raised in a musical family, but his knack for singing, piano, and guitar soon caught up to the Tulsa, Oklahoma native, propelling Rector into a full-fledged career in music.

In college, Rector fully embraced songwriting and upon graduating from the University of Arkansas, had already released two full-length albums: Twenty Tomorrow and Songs That Duke Wrote. During that time, Rector also began playing local concert venues, and before he knew it, had developed a substantial fan base while playing sold out venues. What started out as a love of good music turned into a career with six studio albums, 400,000 albums sold, and four million downloads.

Following college, Rector moved to Nashville to pursue his passion full time. Now 29 years old, Ben Rector is back with a new album, Brand New. Debuting at No. 9 on the Billboard 200 in 2015, the album continues to be a hit due to its powerful lyrics and catchy hooks, and its title track charted on the Billboard Hot 100 for several weeks.

State Farm and iHeartRadio took some time to catch up with the busy singer/songwriter about growing up in Tulsa and how his local community inspired his career. Head over to State Farm Neighborhood Sessions for a behind the scenes chat with Rector and his fam!​