The Grace of Grandson's Stardom

Jordan Edward Benjamin has shared the stage with mega acts such as the Smashing Pumpkins and Young the Giant, while his songs have already been streamed millions of times during his brief eight-year career.

The Canadian-American musician known as grandson seemingly burst onto the scene after releasing several well-received singles and EPs over the years, which helped his 2020 debut album, Death of an Optimist, reach number seven on Billboard’s U.S. Heat chart. Using a unique mix of alternative rock, hip-hop and EDM, grandson’s calling card has become his politically and socially charged lyrics, which reflect the current climate of our oft-troubled times.

“I think a lot of my favorite political artists, from the Beatles to Bruce Springsteen, started with a little more innocent topics, and then as they got older and more mature, the themes of their songs became more of a societal reflection. I, on the other hand, from the age of 23, came out with songs about politics and criticizing the world around me,” he says.

Currently working on his second album, grandson is only becoming more introspective, and he wants to share a different side of his mind with audiences.

“As I’m getting older, I feel the drive to give fans of mine more of myself and be a little bit more vulnerable. Ever since that, it’s been a very interesting thing for me to work on songs that are a little more personal and take these themes of self-loathing and mental health and actually make them not just a commentary or reflection on American society or whatever, but really my own experience or my own family history of addiction or my own relationship to mental health crisis intervention. I think that’s where my writing process is headed,” he adds.

Grandson is on the road opening for Bring Me the Horizon. The tour stops at the Fillmore Auditorium Thursday, October 20. Knocked Loose and Siiickbrain are also on the bill.

While accolades and widespread recognition are always nice, grandson says what keeps him going nowadays is connecting more authentically with fans, especially if there are people at a show who may experience trouble fitting in.

“I try and use alternative rock, which is kind of a vague descriptor, but I try to infuse hip-hop, rock and roll and even some electronic EDM moments to empower and make an audience feel like they can tap into a part of themselves that is sometimes inaccessible when moving through the world. I try to give people a sense of agency in their life and give people permission to find this catharsis that we all seek in so many different ways in a world where it’s really hard to find spaces to do that,” he explains. ... "I think that being the one with a microphone in front of a bunch of people comes with a certain amount of responsibility. I think if you grew up the way that I did, in a progressive household believing in the inherent right to dignity and opportunity that we were all born with, then inevitably you’re going to take that opportunity to speak to people and try and use it to empower or to galvanize people toward social causes.

"As I move through America and the world, it's incredible to me just how similar people are when you talk to them one on one," he continues. "It is these invisible lines that dictate and govern what is socially acceptable and what is not and what are the consequences of being yourself in one place versus another, not just from country to country, but here in America. I think that Denver is by and large a pretty socially progressive city, but you go to other places in Colorado and it’s not quite as simple.”

Such an accepting ethos has given grandson “a sense of purpose and drive when I’m looking for it,” as he puts it, moving forward.

“I’ve accomplished a lot of the things that my ego propelled me to accomplish as far as playing arena shows with the biggest bands in the world and having my music listened to hundreds of millions of times. Your ego only gets so much burn,” he says. ... “Being able to be a motivating force in people’s life or a catalyst for them to re-evaluate some of their worst habits, that’s something that can get me motivated and excited to come play a show in Denver for the fifth or sixth time. To know that somebody in the crowd might get something out of it."

grandson, 6 p.m. Thursday, October 20, Fillmore Auditorium, 1510 Clarkson Street. Tickets are $234.