"What actually brought me over to the states was my wife," explained Ben Godwin. "I guess I'm a mail order bride! We had the opportunity to come here and it's just such an amazing music scene over here. There's a culture of music in the states that I just love."
This latest album goes down a different direction for Godwin. While his earlier material sounded a bit influenced by fellow countryman Elvis Costello, "Skin and Bone" has a distinct Tom Waits feel. It looks like living in New York has really toughened up Godwin.
"Yeah, New York definitely brings out the anger!" laughs Godwin. "It's just such an intense city. London and England as a whole are pretty polite places and I love that about the U.K., but New York lets it all hang out in a big way and that definitely reflects in the songs. Plus there's this sense of impending doom. Tom Waits had a brilliant quote once, 'New York is a ship and the sea is on fire' and that thought was definitely behind these lyrics.
Godwin knew he needed to make a new record because it was clear his music was going through a transformation. The songs he had previously released no longer represented the work he was now creating.
"We just dove into it and when we sat back and listened to the songs, it was clear they were all songs about the city," he said. "There are songs about coming to New York, songs about being in New York, and songs about escaping New York. It's all grounded in this headrush of living in New York City."
Godwin is part of the anti-folk scene in New York City. Actually, he was part of the anti-folk scene in London as well even though he didn't know it at the time! According to Godwin, the meaning of anti-folk seems to mean different things to different people and changes every few years, but the main thing is that it is a community of artists and they generally get together at the Sidewalk Cafe in New York City.
"When I first came here I had heard about this open mic," he explained. "It was different from any open mic scene I'd ever been to because people were staying for the whole night and they were listening to everybody and getting into everybody. Just this level of listening and support that's a million miles away from most open mic situations where often there will be this grim faced queue of musicians all waiting for their chance to play; all sufferring through all the other acts waiting for their shot, which is rather boring. There's this amazing wealth of talent in New York and a lot of it winds up at the Sidewalk Cafe every Monday.
"There's a lot of really strong listening going on and there's also room to take risks and be silly, which is kind of refreshing because sometimes we take music so seriously. I got into the whole scene there and started taking risks as a songwriter, which I've never really done before. I've always been the kind of guy who would sit and polish the song until it was absolutely perfect and then I'd play it for people. Since I started playing at the Sidewalk I'll do things like get there at 7:30pm, sign up to play somewhere between 10 and 11 o'clock and then go downstairs to the basement. Then I'll take whatever's rattling around in my head, turn it into a song and literally jump up on stage and play it! If you're a songwriter that's like a tightrope without a safety net. It's invigorating! I wrote alot of the songs on the album that way."
One of the most interesting things about Godwin is how he has been able to use his music to give back to the community and build a following at the same time. When he moved to New York, he found out about LIFEbeat's Hearts & Voice program while searching on Craig's List. The program brings live music to people living with HIV in and around Manhattan; many who wouldn't know how to get access to live music or can't even leave the hospital.
"One of the demands of being a musician is having to self promote a lot," said Godwin. "And it gets tiring to promote. I had the idea of putting it in a non-profit context. That way at the very least I'd be giving back. And we just have a ball! It's just an amazing example of the power music has for people. You see things that really seem miraculous like people getting out of their wheelchairs to talk. And once you look at your music in that context you don't seem to mind self-promoting because you start to realize that it might have some value for people."
Godwin is donating $1 from the sale of each copy of "Skin And Bone" to LIFEbeat's programs to fight AIDS and performs about once a week with the group.
In addition to his work with LIFEbeat, Godwin is also very involved with vegan causes. He became a vegan over five years ago and has participated in
demonstrations and benefits for groups like PETA.
The show on September 5th will not only be Godwin's first time playing in Hoboken, but it also takes place on Ben's birthday. So it should be a fun night all around. Godwin will also be performing at The Bitter End in New York City on September 19th. For more information visit www.bengodwin.com
Join us for McCarter at the Museum - renowned performing artists in one-night only events at the Princeton University Art Museum.
Jason Robert Brown is a four-time Tony Award-winning composer and lyricist of The Last Five Years, Parade, Songs for a New World, 13, The Bridges of Madison County, Honeymoon In Vegas and The Connector, has performed as a soloist or with his band in venues around the world, including sold-out shows at the London Palladium and Carnegie Hall. His albums as a singer-songwriter include Wearing Someone Else’s Clothes and How We React and How We Recover on Ghostlight, and Coming From Inside the House and Live In Concert with Stephen Sondheim on Concord.
With Special Guest Tony nominee Betsy Wolfe. Tony Award-nominated actress Betsy Wolfe is currently starring as Audrey in the acclaimed Off-Broadway production of Little Shop of Horrors, following her recent Broadway run as Madeline Ashton in the hit musical Death Becomes Her. She previously originated the title role in Joy, the new musical inspired by inventor Joy Mangano, and earned a 2023 Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her celebrated performance as Anne Hathaway in & Juliet. Other Broadway credits include starring as Jenna in Waitress, Cordelia in the acclaimed revival of Falsettos, Bullets Over Broadway, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Everyday Rapture, and 110 in the Shade, as well as her critically acclaimed performance as Cathy in the Off-Broadway revival of The Last Five Years. Wolfe made her Metropolitan Opera debut in Die Fledermaus and has appeared as a guest artist with more than 65 symphony, pops, and philharmonic orchestras worldwide, including the New York Philharmonic and BBC Symphony Orchestra, with performances at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center. Her screen credits include First One In, Estella Scrooge, CBS’s Instinct, and the film adaptation of The Last Five Years. Wolfe is also the co-founder of BroadwayEvolved, the acclaimed musical theatre training program she launched in 2018 to train and mentor the next generation of theatre artists.
A limited number of early access tickets for McCarter Director’s Circle members and members of the Museum’s Partner Circle are available, on sale Wednesday, September 16, 2026 at 12:00 PM. General public on sale begins Friday, September 18, 2026 at 12:00 PM.
Please be aware there is no public drop-off or parking at the Museum. For visitors with mobility needs, please contact the Museum at least three business days in advance of your visit to request special access to the Museum via Elm Drive. Call 609-258-3788 and select option 1 to speak to a visitor services staff member, or email Louise Barrett at [email protected].
