We love live music! Obviously that means we love going to a big show at Live Oak Bank Pavilion, Greenfield Lake Amphitheater or the Wilson Center. It means we love the free municipal shows that virtually every town in the Cape Fear puts on in the spring and summer. And it also means we love going to one of our favorite restaurants and discovering that they’ve hired a talent to entertain diners.
Saxophonist Benny Hill fits into all three categories. He’s played at Live Oak Bank Pavilion and does an annual show at the Wilson Center. He’s headlined the free shows too, and in addition to the weddings and private parties, he also does weekly gigs at restaurants up and down the coast. Born and raised in Wilmington, he is one of our premier musicians.
We sat down with Benny recently to play a game we call “Seven Questions.”
Question: What instrument would you like to learn?
BH: I currently play the saxophone. I’ve played it all my life. I started when I was 12. I am 52 now. So, that’s 40 years! I’ve messed with the piano off and on and I recently started playing an organ- that’s really fun.I like people like Jimmy Smith and Richard Grooveholms and I would really like to learn to play in that style. I currently had a few performing gigs playing the organ, and I am slowly getting better.