What makes music sound original? Sometimes it can be an unmistakable voice, or a tone unlike anyone else’s. Halifax’s Ben Caplan is a perfect example of someone whose sound is so distinctive that it’s hard to compare him to other artists. Though I haven’t seen him perform live yet, we are honoured to present this great Canadian folk artist at The Cove on Friday, November 28, as part of the Ontario Festival of Small Halls. Tickets for dinner and the show, or just the show, are available at ontariosmallhalls.com. I reached out to him in advance of the show to learn about his influences and what our audience has in store.
Seamus Cowan: Your voice is incredibly distinctive. Did it develop naturally, or were there key influences?
Ben Caplan: I wish I could say there was some grand plan behind it, but honestly, it’s mostly the result of time and life. I was never trained formally as a singer, so I found my voice by trial, error, and necessity. I grew up listening to a lot of gravelly singers like Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen, even some Eastern European cantors. I absorbed a lot from that. There are some horn players who have been really influential for how I think about breath, phrasing, and timbre — especially Louis Armstrong and John Zorn. But more than influence, it’s really about emotional truth. The thing I always strive for in my singing is honesty.
I can hear the old European folk traditions in your sound. Does that come from family roots?
My roots are in Ashkenazi Jewish culture, so I was surrounded by fragments of Eastern European melody and storytelling from an early age. That music has always carried both sorrow and defiance in equal measure, which feels like home to me. I’m drawn to old-world modes and rhythms because they bridge the sacred and the profane — they’re both lament and celebration. I wouldn’t say I’m recreating those traditions, but I’m definitely shaped by them. They show up in my writing whether I invite them or not.
With a nationwide Canadian tour happening this fall, it seems you have built quite an audience. What does this support mean for you as a creative force?
Touring has always been the most important thing for me. There’s something deeply human and spiritual about gathering people in a room to share stories and songs — it’s one of the oldest forms of connection we have. After so many years of doing this, I still don’t take that for granted.
It’s a great modern luxury to be able to listen to music in any location, context, or setting. That said, for me, the true essence of music is human creativity, fallibility, and connection expressed as an ephemeral sculpture in time. Recorded music is an incredible artform, and I love making it, but playing live has a sacred fleeting impermanence that makes it truly and literally unique. Having the support to be able to sustain creating art in that way means the world to me.
You’ve worked with some amazing Montreal musicians — Pemi Paul, Joe Grass, Eric Hove, Andy King. How do you see the current state of Canada’s creative scene?
Canada has a staggering amount of talent. What’s remarkable to me is how collaborative and cross-pollinating the scene has become. Musicians like Pemi, Joe, Eric, Andy — they all bring a kind of generosity to the work. We have fewer venues than we used to, and the economics are tougher than ever, but there’s still a spirit of creation that refuses to die. Artists are adapting, building community around small spaces, and re-imagining what sustainable art-making can look like. It’s not easy, but it’s real.
Your new album The Flood is powerful and deeply emotional. What’s at its core?
The Flood is about surrender and transformation. It’s about what happens when life washes everything away and you’re forced to rebuild from the mud. For me, it was born out of a few years of loss and upheaval — personally, creatively, and globally. The flood, in that sense, isn’t destruction; it’s renewal. The record wrestles with fear, faith, and the fragile hope that beauty can still emerge from chaos. I wanted it to sound like both the storm and the sunrise after it.
Get your tickets to Ben’s upcoming show at ontariosmallhalls.com, learn more about him at bencaplan.ca, and find The Cove’s other musical offerings at coveinn.com/music.