Ben and yMusic will be crossing the pond to treat UK fans to an earful of concerto and more next June. They’ll be making eight stops: Cardiff, Wales; Edinburgh, Scotland; Birmingham, Liverpool, Gateshead, London (2 shows), Brighton and Cambridge, England. Dates are up on the tour dates page, with VIP ticket sales starting today (December 3) and general sales December 4.
Announcements
Augusta show moved to new venue
Due to the possibility of bad weather, the Ben Folds show with the Symphony Orchestra Augusta is being moved from the riverfront Jessye Norman Amphitheatre to the nearby Bell Auditorium, an indoor venue.Doors open at 7:30 pm for the 8:30 pm concert.
Westobou Festival organizers were concerned because the orchestral instruments couldn’t tolerate being out in bad weather. Rain has been in the forecast for several days in Augusta including a 40 percent chance during Ben’s performance.
Tickets for the Norman Amphitheatre will be honored at Bell Auditorium using the same seat numbers. In addition, $20 balcony general admission tickets are now available through the festival’s website.
Major collaboration, album & tour this spring
Ben has teamed up with yMusic, an ensemble of six exciting instrumental musicians in their 20s and 30s with impressive credentials on both the pop and classical side. Ben’s “new band”, as he puts it, are putting the finishing touches on an album, to be titled So There (which will include at least parts of his concerto) and will be touring the US and elsewhere as Ben Folds & yMusic starting in mid-April; dates are still being arranged, though they’ve been booked to play the 2015 Bonnaroo Festival on June 12.
The sextet, comprised of violinist and guitarist Rob Moose, trumpet and French horn player C. J. Camerieri, cellist Gabe Cabezas, flutist Alex Sopp, clarinetist and multi-instrumentalist Hideaki Aomori, and violinist Nadia Sirota released their second album, Balance Problems, late last year. Each has also recorded solo or with others in every genre from classical to jazz and pop.
Ben heard about yMusic last summer and contacted them about a collaboration. (more…)
PopUp Brooklyn
Ben Folds has been announced as the headliner for this summer’s PopUp Brooklyn do-it-yourself picnic dinner and fundraising event for the Prospect Park Alliance, a community effort to preserve and improve the storied greenspace in the heart of Brooklyn, New York. Advance pre-sale tickets for the June 28 event sold out in April but others can ask to be placed on the guest list and purchase tickets ($35 per person).
The concept behind the pop-up dinners is simple. At a predetermined time (5 pm) and at a secret location (announced to ticket holders two hours prior), revelers dressed in white gather to set up tables, enjoy dinner and wine they bring themselves, then music and revelry. After the event, everyone pitches in to clean up and remove their trash, leaving no trace of where they were in the park. (more…)
Folds to “superjam” at Bonnaroo
The annual Manchester, Tennessee Bonnaroo Festival has announced its schedule for the 2014 gathering, and included are two Superjam sessions, always favorites of the festival. This year the Friday night Superjam is being headed up by guitar great Derek Trucks and will feature special guest Ben Folds. Superjams include a variety of jam-band and related artists and the Friday night session includes Trucks’ wife and blues-band musical partner Susan Tedeschi, Chaka Khan, Taj Mahal and a host of other prominent players. The Bonnaroo Festival’s website describes the Superjam as
“…the most highly anticipated Bonnaroo concert tradition and the festival’s signature event. A diverse set of superstar musicians unite for a one-time-only collaborative performance. The Superjam is always a wild show full of surprises where neither the fans nor the artists really know where it’s headed.”
and if there’s anyone who can craft a wild show full of surprises, it’s Folds. Superjam takes place at That Tent on Friday night, June 13 at midnight (early morning hours of Saturday). Full information on the festival, including tickets and details on the dozens of performances, can be found at the Bonnaroo website.
