MORE than 200,000 follow him on Spotify and his songs have become soundtracks to many weddings, births and funerals in recent years.

Benjamin Francis Leftwich made an instant impact in 2011 with his debut album, Last Smoke Before The Snowstorm.

And during the following years he has continued to produce melancholy masterpieces which have attracted plays in the millions across the most popular streaming services.

Drawing comparisons to Damien Rice and José González, Leftwich's single Shine was named Spotify's most addictive track of 2014 as well as the most repeat-played song of the year.

His second album, After the Rain, helped take the York-born singer to an even wider audience with tours across Canada, USA, China, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, and throughout Asia.

According to Spotify, Benjamin Francis Leftwich has an average 2,510,535 monthly listeners.

And the release of last year's album, Gratitude, will have done no harm at all to his streaming figures with another collection of beautiful and soulful songs.

Benjamin said: "I’ve been really lucky over the past 10 years to have my music soundtrack really important events in people’s lives, like weddings, funerals, births and probably break-ups as well – I get a fair few messages about that!

"It’s a privilege, and it’s humbling. I’m very grateful for it.”

On Friday, March 13 Benjamin Francis Leftwich will play the Mac Arts in Galashiels as part of a nationwide tour.

Tickets, priced at £15 in advance, are available from www.ticketsource.co.uk/macarts