Ben DeWitt

Bitter Jester Music Festival Judge

2020 Bitter Jester Grand Champion

Ben DeWitt is a songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist from west Michigan. Together with his indie rock band, Pretoria, he was a 2020 BJMF Original Song Competition Grand Champion and 2021 Runner-Up. He and the band have since relocated to Chicago to continue growing their fanbase in the big city.

“Competing in the Bitter Jester Music Festival competition leveled up my band's game. The judge's feedback was super valuable. There are many things we learned at BJMF that we still take to heart years later. The community is so kind and accepting. I'd recommend BJMF to any blossoming artist or anyone looking to attend and discover cool new musicians!”

- Ben DeWitt

Homeschooled in a semi-rural area just outside Grand Rapids, Ben was first exposed to music through piano lessons from his father, a career musician. Ben picked up the drums shortly after and began playing in dive bars as a teenager. But he never considered pursuing music as a career until his college years.

His freshman year was spent as a pre-nursing student at his local community college, teaching drum lessons on the side and playing in bands on the weekends. He became a part of the small but colorful DIY music scene in Grand Rapids, and some of the songs he had written and recorded for Pretoria gained traction on streaming services. Around the same time, he discovered the tight-knit community of music students at GRCC and switched his studies to music. This led to a brief stint in Kalamazoo, Michigan, where he studied multimedia arts and finished a bachelor’s degree.

Returning to his home of Grand Rapids post-college, he moved into the Treehouse - a house venue run by Pretoria singer Rob Gullett and photographer Brady Olsen. Ben began helping organize shows and run sound at the venue. Most house venues in the area didn’t survive the COVID shutdowns, and the Treehouse became a popular hangout for the recovering underground scene post-COVID, often hosting 100-200 people in the house at one time.

After a couple of years at The Treehouse, Ben and Pretoria decided to leave their beloved Grand Rapids scene and move to Chicago. After some lineup changes, Ben switched from drummer to guitarist, and the group began to tour the US regularly. When he isn’t playing with Pretoria or working with clients, he loves to go to local shows, thrift stores, and restaurants. He also has a deep admiration for art forms other than music, especially fine art, photography, furniture, and most things avant-garde. 

Ben’s grounded, inspired songwriting and DIY approach to music has earned millions of streams online and hundreds of thousands of fans around the world. Despite his introverted nature, he believes that music is about community, expression, and accessibility.

Ben feels extremely fortunate to be a part of the Bitter Jester community and looks forward to judging this season’s competition!