Ben Sollee

While Kentucky-based Ben Sollee is a classically trained cellist, he's also steeped in the vintage soul of guys like Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett and Sam Cooke. On last year's excellent Learning to Bend, in fact, Sollee took Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come" and twisted the lyrics a bit, put some chugging cello behind it and crooned in a falsetto not too far from the original. Broadening his palette even further, Sollee is also well versed in Americana and folk, which is apparent from Bend and from his work with Abigail Washburn & the Sparrow Quartet and his contributions to albums from local bluesman Otis Taylor. Most recently, Sollee (playing a pair of shows this weekend with Trampled by Turtles) teamed up with fellow Kentuckian Daniel Martin Moore on Dear Companion, which is due out on Sub Pop this February. From the sounds of it, Sollee is redefining the term "classic soul."