Free Valet Bike Parking provided by Chicago's Active Transportation Alliance and the Clif 2 Mile Challenge. Ride your bike to the show and receive a free Ben Sollee sampler download/spoke card.

Ben Sollee wants you to experience all the beauty and banality that life has to offer. It’s a serious request, and his enthusiasm is genuine. Armed with a cello, Sollee is canvassing the country, sometimes by bicycle, imploring folks to rediscover the connections between music, art, film, dance, their community, and personal relationships.

These factors ultimately translate to the mindset and making of Ben’s new project – Inclusions. Beyond bridging genres and demographics with earnest, dynamic songwriting and passionate performances, Ben Sollee seeks to intertwine his music with art and life. The theme of Inclusions is large, humanistic and universal – how relationships influence us all whether intentional or not.

The classically trained pop cellist recognized his community and relationships in every facet of Inclusions. Collaborating with local visual artist Phillip March Jones, the album art for Inclusions brings a visual reference to the allegory of the album. Ben’s newfound rhythmic intensity comes courtesy of a compositional backbone provided by his old friend and tour confidant, Jordon Ellis. Listeners are also treated to the voice of Cheyenne Marie Mize, who threads soaring harmonies throughout, as well as songwriting for “I Need.”