BROOME COUNTY – Harpursville native, high school graduate, guitarist, singer and songwriter Shawn Hawkins has left upstate New York and made his way to Nashville to pursue his passion for music.

Hawkins first picked up a guitar at age seven and began playing in a more public arena at 14. He has played locally at the Norwich Pumpkin Festival, the Parade of Lights, and the Chenango County Fair. His previous music endeavors have enabled him to open for many country music artists, including Jason Michael Carrol, Josh Gracin and Cassidy Lynn.

After high school, Hawkins packed up and made the journey from upstate New York to Nashville, where he is currently attending Belmont University. He is presently in his junior year as a music business major.

As a freshman at Belmont, he met a group of like-minded musicians who have joined together to form the band Ben Whisler.

“Last September we came together and played a couple of shows here and there,” said Hawkins. “Now, a month ago, we have released our first single.”

Lead singer Ben Whisler hails from a small Tennessee town, and his musical career began behind a drum kit. He later realized his musical passion was to be center stage with a six-string and a microphone. His songwriting blends down-to-earth personal experience with a distinct method of storytelling.

The band’s other members include Tim Hayes, a fiddle player majoring in commercial violin; Austin Mercuri, the bassist and a commercial bass major; and drummer Jared Ruby, majoring in commercial percussion.

Hawkins plays the lead guitar and the mandolin, and additionally has studied under Erik Halbig of the band Thompson Square.