By: Ryan Duey
Raised on a farm near Morganville, Ben Taddiken’s love for music started at an early age. His parents and siblings had a small family band that played together for a while, sparking his passion for performing.
As he grew up and went to school he learned more about music and instruments, first at Morganville Elementary, then in Clay Center, where he graduated from CCCHS in 1998. Taddiken spoke about his years in Clay County.
“I did music all through school. I took piano lessons from Lisa Bauer when I was a kid, and then later did band and vocal. Band was, of course, C.L. Snodgrass and then Cathy Hafner came in. Goodness, I went to Morganville Elementary School, Cathy Hafner was there at Morganville. Ken Lang in junior high, and then Tiger Corral.”
“Whether it was singing in church or school, music was always there.”
In the summer of 2000, he traveled to Key West, Florida where he watched musicians performing regularly. He quickly knew that’s where he wanted to be and what he wanted to do. He now performs most of his days in Florida for tourists and locals alike.
Thanks to the Clay County Arts Council and Rex Theatre Taddiken will bring his talents back home, performing at the Rex on Saturday, January 25th at 7:00 p.m. He said he performs solo and looks very forward to playing back home. Taddiken spoke a little about what the audience can expect.
“My music is kind of an Americana folk rock, with a little bit of country thrown in there. I like to think of it as a musical conversation. I also typically heavily rely on requests and suggestions from the crowd.”
“I’m looking forward to presenting some Original Songs that I’ve written throughout the years, along with a lot of my favorite Covers, telling the stories of either writing those songs or when I learned the Cover Songs, and what those songs mean to me and what I’ve done with them.”
Tickets will be available at the Rex Theatre that evening. Students and Arts Council members are free. Enjoy an amazing show while supporting a local artist on Saturday night.
