Ben Weaver entered the world in Eugene, Oregon, yet spent the bulk of his formative years in St. Paul, Minnesota. Music surrounded him throughout childhood, making clear that it would remain central to his existence. After finishing only a single year of college, he left school to travel widely, an interval whose accumulated experiences later informed the songs he would write.
His debut album, El Camino Blues, appeared in 1999 on Unit Three Records and included guest work from Greg Brown along with support from Tony Glover. Weaver then took the project on the road, performing alongside Brown and sharing stages with Fred Eaglesmith, Alejandro Escovedo, and the late Dave Van Ronk. Songs continued to accumulate during those travels, resulting in the sophomore release Living in the Ground on 30/30 Industries, captured in a single five-hour session that featured Bo Ramsey and Dave Moore.
The third album, 2002’s Hollerin’ at a Woodpecker, also came out on 30/30 Industries and earned widespread notice when critics in leading music magazines in Britain and the United States singled it out for praise. In 2004 Stories Under Nails surfaced on Fugawee Bird Records, the label Weaver established himself; the record received international distribution and prompted a worldwide touring schedule. He kept writing afterward and performed with the Waifs and Kristin Hersh among others. Ax in the Dark surfaced in 2008 on Chicago’s Bloodshot Records, followed by Mirepoix and Smoke in 2010.
