My MUSIC
Over the years, I’m so thankful to have been able to make a lot of mandolin music with a lot of amazing folks! Check out some of the projects I’ve been a part of below:
NEW RECORD!
So excited to share this latest album from our band The Foreign Landers! This is my favorite project I’ve ever worked on because the songs and arrangements are so personal. It’s an expression of our faith and our story, and we would be honored if you took a listen below.
My Albums
-
![]()
MADE TO wonder (2026)
With this new Foreign Landers record, we kept coming back to that question: “Am I made to wonder why everything slips away…?” These songs really just grew out of our everyday life, our faith, and leaning into that quiet ache of longing while holding on to hope.
-
![Illustration of a waterfall cascading over a stone dam surrounded by greenery, with a mountain and bird in the sky, titled 'The Foreign Landers' and 'Travelers Rest'.]()
Travelers Rest (2023)
After moving from Northern Ireland to our new home in Travelers Rest, SC, Tabitha and I wrote and recorded this album of autobiographical songs. Featuring special transatlantic guests like John Doyle, Brittany Haas and Nick Cooke, this is the closest thing to a folk opera we’ve ever done!
-
![A landscape painting with a cloudy sky, green fields, and trees in the distance. The text reads, "Why Live Without CUP O JOE."]()
Why Live Without (2023)
Recorded in England, this Cup O’Joe bluegrass album is a collection of meaningful songs written during lockdown that talk about our faith and hope in Jesus.
-
![Cover of Bertolf's album "Bluefinger" featuring Bertolf sitting on an ornate chair playing an acoustic guitar, dressed in a black suit against a dark background.]()
Bluefinger (2023)
Wow, this was a fun session! Dutch singer songwriter and flatpicker Bertolf Lentink had me to play mandolin alongside Jerry Douglas, Stuart Duncan, Wes Corbett, and Mark Schatz on this crazy cool album!
-
![Black and white poster with a deer and mountain background. Text reads 'The Foreign Landers' and 'Put all your troubles away'.]()
Put all your troubles away (2021)
Recorded during lockdown, this EP was the seed that grew into the full time band that me and Tabitha play in today, The Foreign Landers. This first duo recording is named after a great John Hartford song of the same name.
-
![]()
Christmas Kin (2021)
A jolly Christmas EP from Cup O’Joe, recorded remotely across the Atlantic.
-
![Line drawing of six musicians with instruments, including a banjo, guitar, microphone, and violin, under the text 'Mile Twelve' and 'Roll the Tapes All Night Long'.]()
Roll the Tapes All Night Long (2020)
My last recording with Mile Twelve–a fun covers EP featuring special guests like Billy Strings, Chris Eldridge, and Bruce Molsky.
-
![A watercolor illustration of a tree with a leaning trunk and branches blowing in the wind, set against a background of mountains and a pastel sky. Handwritten text reads 'Cup O' Joe' at the top and 'In the Parting' at the bottom.]()
In the Parting (2020)
Northern Irish bluegrass is a thing! I got to join my wife Tabitha and her brothers in this Northern Irish bluegrass band Cup O’Joe for the first time with this album.
-
![Futuristic city skyline with tall skyscrapers, reflected upside-down in a mirror-like surface, with cloudy sky background.]()
City on a Hill (2019)
Mile Twelve’s sophomore album and my favorite recording from my time playing in the band. Produced by Bryan Sutton, this one got nominated for Album of the Year at the 2019 IBMA Awards.
-
![A man in a navy jacket and brown pants playing a ukulele or guitar in front of a white wall with the text 'David Benedict The Golden Angle'.]()
The Golden Angle (2018)
Really stretched out on this one with some help from Matt Flinner, Stuart Duncan, Missy Raines, David Grier and many other incredible pickers. If you like progressive mandolin tunes, this one is for you!
-
![Illustration of a girl riding a zebra, flying through clouds with a bird flying nearby, with the text 'Missy Raines Royal Traveller' at the bottom.]()
Royal Traveller (2018)
Was honored to record on a few tracks for this Grammy-nominated album my former boss and band leader Missy Raines put together!
-
![Vintage car illustration with the phrase "Mile Twelve Onward" in decorative script, surrounded by leaves on a blue background.]()
Onwards (2017)
This was my first recording with Boston-based bluegrass band Mile Twelve after joining the group in 2017. Produced by Stephen Mougin, this album features a wide cross-section of progressive songs and arrangements.
-
![Two young men in a church with wooden pews and large arched windows. One is standing with hands in pockets, the other is sitting and leaning on the pew. There is a sign that says "Each by Side" with the names David Benedict & Michael Moore.]()
Each By Side (2015)
Written and recorded with my music school buddy and fingerstyle guitar whiz Michael Moore, this instrumental duo album was a fun opportunity to stretch out and try new styles.
-
![Book cover titled 'Into the True Country' by David Benedict, featuring a forest scene with tall trees and green grass.]()
Into the True Country (2014)
My very first album featuring a collection of original mandolin tunes! Got my teacher Matt Flinner to produce this with a bunch of amazing studio musicians!
MY BANDS
THE FOREIGN LANDERS
My wife Tabitha and I started this band during lockdown in Northern Ireland, and since then it has become one of our main creative outlets–mixing our favorite musical traditions from both sides of the Atlantic to create something fresh and personal. We get our name from the old folk song “Foreign Lander,” but the phrase has become very much autobiographical. The songs we write and share deal with themes of longing and hope, and the sense that we’re all ultimately strangers in a foreign land.
CUP O’JOE
Tabitha and her brothers got hooked on bluegrass while growing up in Northern Ireland–kind of a strange thing for kids to do there. But over the years, they’ve made an international name for themselves with their incredible sibling harmonies and hard hitting instrumental abilities that go toe-to-toe with just about any American bluegrass band. It just so happened they needed a mandolin player, so when I married Tabitha I also married into the band and I thoroughly enjoy getting to play with them to this day!
Mile Twelve
From 2017 to 2021 I had the real privilege of being a part of this Boston-based progressive bluegrass band. We cut our teeth touring together around the world, recording 3 studio albums, and in 2020 we even won the IBMA New Artist of the Year Award–crazy! It’s a group of dear friends who’ve gone on to do great things, like BB Bowness who won Steve Martin’s Banjo Player of the Year Award, and Bronwyn Keith-Hynes who went on to play with Molly Tuttle and Golden Highway and get nominated for a Grammy herself!
MORE INSIGHTS
Sign up for my somewhat weekly newsletter Mandolin Notes for even more practical tips and insights delivered to your inbox.
By signing up through this form, you will receive my free newsletter along with occasional email updates regarding my courses and other products. Feel free to unsubscribe at any point. To learn more, please review our privacy policy.