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.
“The Sing-Off” previews
NBC has posted a few preview videos from the second season of The Sing-Off, the mini-series showcasing a cappella groups which debuts December 6. Here is a clip from the opening number featuring all ten groups. There are also individual features on each group.
Ben Folds is, of course, one of the judges again this season, and he has been blogging about the second season as well. Read his “On Key” posts from the NBC website.
Nashville Symphony Benefit
It’s been on the calendar for a while, but the promotion is kicking in (and so are ticket sales) for the Nashville Symphony show Keys to Music City, a benefit for the Nashville Symphony and for two volunteer firefighting companies.  The show, on  Saturday, November 27, is Folds’ only appearance in Nashville this year. Tickets, at $50-175, are now on sale. Item from WSMV.com (Original post Sep 25th 2010)
Louis Folds and Ethan Bortnick
Update: Ben adds that Jason Sudeikis from Saturday Night Live is coming down to lend moral support, and one of Ben’s favorite conductors, Francisco Noya, is also planning to be there. Noya is an associate professor of composition at Boston’s famed Berklee College of Music and is the resident conductor of the Rhode Island Symphony. He’ll also be joined on stage by nine-year-old piano sensation Ethan Bortnick (pictured at right with Ben’s son Louis), who has appeared on many national TV shows, at public events, and has his own YouTube channel.
Update 2: Drummer Sam Smith designed a poster for the event. Sam to
ld me the good news that they sold out, raising money for flood relief in Nashville.
Related show
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.
Lonely Avenue tour underway
The tour in support of the recently-released Lonely Avenue album is now underway, with dates across the eastern US. At the Detroit show, Ben played a few songs from the new album (Saskia Hamilton, Belinda, From Above, Levi Johnston’s Blues),  but relied on a mix of recent and past material from his repertoire, even reaching into the Majosha wayback machine for Emaline. The set, which ran over two hours with multiple encores, was full of energy, appreciated by the crowd of several thousand at Detroit’s outpost of the Fillmore group of performance spaces (formerly the State Theatre which, according to veteran soundman Leo Overtoom, is one of the best-equipped and most acoustically desirable venues on the tour).  Many dependable features of a Folds show delighted the audience, including the crowd vocal harmony parts on Not the Same and Army, the impromptu riffs from Misirlou and Hava Nagila woven into other songs, and a snippet of Dr. Pyser. Of course, no show would be complete without improv, and Ben did not disappoint with a couple Detroit-themed jams. New bassist Ryan Lerman is fitting in well and had some tasty licks on One Angry Dwarf and Philosophy. Ben told me they are still rehearsing new material for future shows, including some surprises, so showgoers later on the tour have a lot to look forward to.
The tour caps off in December with a date at New York’s Beacon Theatre. After the live finale of The Sing-Off and a break for the holidays, there are plans for touring in the UK and Europe, as well as Asia and Australia in the months following the new year.
