Ben Folds: Paper Airplane Request Tour

Emmy-nominated, multi-platinum selling musician and composer Ben Folds brings his popular solo Paper Airplane Request Tour to the UB Center for the Arts Mainstage this fall.

What initially began years ago as a request for songs as encores will once again be a central element in Folds’ shows when he engages audiences to make their song requests via paper airplanes. “The last time I did this on tour the response was overwhelming, with literally hundreds of paper airplanes with song requests being launched on cue from fans at the start of the second half of each of my concerts,” said Folds. “It’s the purest, most low-tech form of engagement that creates a special bond with my audiences.”

Ben Folds is widely regarded as one of the major music influencers of our generation and has created an enormous body of genre-bending music that includes pop albums with Ben Folds Five, multiple solo albums, and numerous collaborative records. For the past three decades, he's toured as a pop artist, while also performing with some of the world's greatest symphony orchestras.

A New York Times Best Selling author and podcast host, Folds also composes for film, tv and theatre, guest stars in films and TV. Folds, who released his most recent album “What Matters Most” to critical acclaim, has been in studio in recent months working on his first holiday album targeted for release later this year. He’ll also be featured in a special PBS broadcast this spring that spotlights his ongoing “Declassified: Ben Folds Presents” concert series he curates as Artistic Advisor to the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center.

A longtime advocate for arts and music education funding, Ben launched a music education charitable initiative in his native state of North Carolina entitled "Keys For Kids," which provides funds and keyboards to existing nonprofits that provide free or affordable music lessons to interested school-age children. On the national level, he's active as a member of Americans For The Arts and the Arts Action Fund.

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Lindsey Kraft is a multi-faceted artist - actress, singer, and composer. You may recognize her from various TV roles including Netflix's Grace and Frankie, HBO's Getting On and most recently Netflix's Obliterated.

She continues as the opening act for Ben Folds, where she'll be performing her brand of theatrical pop songs including songs from her musical, “love, me,” a one-woman show workshopped recently in LA for a LIVE album.  During an opening performance for Ben at the Kennedy Center in 2023, she received a glowing review by DC Music Review which wrote that the audience "was treated and transfixed by the performance of Lindsey Kraft. Within the first few moments of her piece, concertgoers realized how perfect the pairing was. A burgeoning newcomer to musical performances, Kraft, in addition to her brilliant piano playing and songs, masterfully interacted with and entertained the audience with her witty and sincere songs."

She characterizes her songs as deeply personal, funny, and sad, her sound inspired by Carly Simon, Carole King, Billy Joel, Bette Midler, Randy Newman, and Broadway (but like, only the good shows). 

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Visit Lindsey's website - www.lindseykraftmusic.com