by Allison Jarboe, Arts Editor

Popular Christian artist Ben Rector will perform in Edmond on Fri. the 7th of October, and the concert is a point of interest for many OBU students who are fans of the musician’s style.

Lauren Dean, sophomore psychology major, said she is looking forward to attending the concert.

“I am super excited, since I’ve been a huge fan for the past couple years, and now finally get to hear him live,” Dean said.

“He’s definitely one of my favorite artists.”

Dean said she remembers how she first found out about Ben Rector.

“I first got his song ‘Beautiful’ free on iTunes a couple years ago [and] listened to it nonstop, but didn’t really listen to a lot of the rest of his music for a while after that,” Dean said.

“I love the pop/rock style and variety in his music,” she said.

“Some songs emphasize the piano and some the acoustic guitar, both of which I’m a sucker for. I also appreciate how the subject content is more than just the love songs he’s famous for,” she said.

“Some of my favorite songs of his tell the stories of mundane everyday life but in such a beautiful way that it makes you think about and appreciate them more.”

Dean continued to remember how she was impressed with Ben Rector’s live performance.

“The style of his music, and fact that he has a stellar live album on his Spotify make me want to go to a concert since I know it will be quality music and a fun atmosphere,” she said.

“He seems like a super-cool, down-to-earth guy who also happens to be an Oklahoma native so I have a feeling it’s going to be really fun.”

Ben Rector was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma and enjoyed music lessons in his youth, but only began to seriously pursue music in high school when he learned guitar.

He attended the University of Arkansas and during his freshman year he released his EP album.

In 2006, his song, “Conversation,” won the Grand Prize in pop at the John Lennon Songwriting Contest, and Rector was the youngest artist to ever win the particular award.

His debut album rose in popularity, and soon Rector starting touring when he could, primarily weekends and when he wasn’t in school.

After releasing “Twenty Tomorrow,” his first full-length album in 2007, Rector became a well-known artist, and released another album, “Songs that Duke Wrote,” shortly afterwards in 2008.

During his time in college, Rector performed in about 200 shows and in 2009 was awarded as best male singer-songwriter with the NAMA award in Northwest Arkansas.

Soon after, in June 2009 the artist decided to pursue songwriting on a professional level and moved to Nashville to continue his career.

The concert will take place at 7 p.m. in the Judd Theatre at Oklahoma Christian University.