As we wrote in September, Ben will be appearing at National Geographic in Washington on Friday, December 3 as part of NG’s Music on Photography series. Tickets are still available ($18 for National Geographic Society members; $20 for the general public). Ben will discuss his photographic work and inspiration in the series, which is moderated by NG’s editorial photographer Mark Seliger.
Announcements
Europe/UK tour announced
As we first mentioned here on the Armchair, Ben and the band are embarking on a tour of UK and European venues shortly after the first of the year. The tour begins in Dublin on February 18, followed by a half dozen gigs in the UK and then another seven on the continent, ending up in Cologne, Germany on March 8 (details are, of course, up on our tour dates page). Tickets can be purchased by fan club members beginning Wednesday, November 10 at 14:00 UTC, 24 hours before they go on sale to the general public. Special VIP packages are available including extras such as early entry into the venue, signed tour lithographs, commemorative VIP laminate, and digital downloads of Lonely Avenue. Nothing’s been announced but I wouldn’t be surprised if Nick Hornby popped up at one or more of the UK shows.
Tour poster to be sold at shows
Sam Smith, Ben’s drummer, is also a poster artist and has done art for movies and events including last spring’s benefit concert to aid Nashville flood relief efforts. Sam has designed a poster for the current tour, which will be sold at shows. Â Check out Sam’s blog for some of his other designs.
“The Sing-Off” contestants, schedule, extras announced
NBC-TV’s a cappella competition show The Sing-Off, now in its second season, has announced the lineup of a cappella groups that will compete for the $100,000 prize and a Sony Music recording contract:
- Committed from Huntsville, Alabama
- Eleventh Hour, a high-school group from Kettering, Ohio
- Pitch Slapped from Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts
- Groove for Thought from Seattle, Washington
- Jerry Lawson & Talk of the Town from Oakland, California
- Men of Note, Cherry Hill, New Jersey
- The Backbeats from USC and UCLA in Los Angeles, California
- On the Rocks from University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon
- Street Corner Symphony from Nashville, Tennessee
- The Whiffenpoofs from Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut
In addition, last year’s winner Nota returns for a special performance.  The show’s premiere night is Monday, December 6, from 8-10 PM, with subsequent episodes on December 8, 13 and 15, with a live finale on Monday, December 20.  (Other than the finale, the episodes were recorded in August.)
As previously reported, Ben returns as a judge, along with the rest of last year’s panel, Nicole Scherzinger (Pussycat Dolls) and Shawn Stockman (Boyz II Men). The show is hosted by Nick Lachey.
New this year, Epic Records will be releasing digital tracks of each group’s performance immediately following each episode. In addition, an album by all ten groups titled The Sing-Off: Harmonies for the Holidays will be released on Epic November 30.
Ben is a People’s Choice Award nominee
Ben Folds is one of the nominees in the Favorite Web Celeb category of the People’s Choice awards. You can cast your vote here. Online balloting continues until November 9 and the awards show is January 5, 2011 on CBS Television.
