From the Front Lines to the Front Row: Rene Benton Comes Home, Raw and Real

After decades of shredding stages across 70 countries and performing with icons from Chubby Checker to Grammy winners, internationally acclaimed guitarist and Marine Corps veteran Rene Benton has returned to his roots—Omaha, Nebraska. His latest album, 2 Live in O-Ma-Haw; Lyvv in Omaha, is more than just a hometown tribute; it’s a testament to Benton’s uncompromising authenticity in a music industry that often values spectacle over soul. In this candid conversation, Benton opens up about the power of imagination, the discipline of balance, and the raw truth behind his Billboard breakthrough. From DMZ memories to deeply personal reflections, Rene Benton reminds us that sometimes the most powerful stage is the one that brings you home.

Rene, you’ve performed in over 70 countries, with icons from Chubby Checker to Grammy winners—yet your new album brings you home to Omaha. What does “home” mean to you now, after a career spent traveling the world? 

I had not performed in my home state for many, many years so I felt compelled to do something there. Home has changed a LOT that was the motivation for it all. 

You’ve said “Love Is Pain” is more than a song—it’s a truth. If I may ask gently, was there a personal heartbreak behind that truth?

 No , nothing personal at all . Years ago when I first penned the song it was primarily my imagination and having a conversation with a guy going through a divorce mixed in with my love for poetry.

You’re a Marine Corps veteran, a music supervisor, and a genre-defying guitarist. Of all your identities, which one has been the hardest to balance—and which has defined you the most?

 None of them have been difficult to balance really . Reason being;  all of that is just an extension of my personality.

In an industry full of spectacle, you’ve chosen authenticity. Where does that need to be real come from? Was there a time when it would’ve been easier not to be??

I am a touring musician first and artist second. So, I never felt the need to be the center of attention. I never craved the spotlight. People who get caught up in the thirst for fame have trouble being true to themselves not a man like me. So there was never an internal conflict.

You’ve played with legends, but this Billboard breakthrough came from a live track. What do you think that says about how deeply people are craving something raw and real right now?

I am not sure what people are in the mood for but, I just know in this computer age we are in an “I know what I knew” that I had to go against the grain. Nothing does that like a record which was also filmed. That way the consumer, agents and other musicians have an idea of what they are getting if they want to connect with me.

Behind the blistering solos and the electric stage presence, who is Rene Benton when the amp is off and the crowd has gone home?

I am a homebody!! 

In all your years of playing—rock, funk, soul, film—what’s the one moment on stage or in the studio that made you stop and say, “This is why I do this”?

Performed near the DMZ of North Korea . Close enough to hear their propaganda music. Performed for the troops up there. That was my “this is why I do this ” moment.

Rene, if you could speak to the younger version of yourself, guitar in hand and dreams in his eyes, what would you tell him now—standing here, with a Billboard hit and a hometown crowd cheering you on?

Man, you should have kept your first electric guitar instead of sawing parts of it off to try and make it cooler!! It was already cool!