Lichtburg, Essen, Germany4th December 2023
Ben Folds - “The What Matters Most Tour”
Seriously rocking music without any guitars - how can that be done? The pianist, singer, composer and multi-instrumentalist BEN FOLDS has been demonstrating this for over two and a half decades. On his countless albums as a solo artist or even before that with his trio BEN FOLDS FIVE, the gifted musician and keyboard dervish shows how to lay waste to a stage with grandiose melodies and tremendous pressure - and all without the use of electric guitars and big Marshall amps.
After the meanwhile 56-year-old musician has been heard in the past years mainly as a classical musician and storyteller within the framework of his autobiography and his own podcast, the new BEN FOLDS album ‘What Matters Most’ has now been announced for 2023 after an eight-year break, which is described by first ear witnesses as a “marriage of refined craftsmanship and raw energy”. Between 25 November and 4 December, BEN FOLDS will be making solo guest appearances in Berlin, Wiesbaden and Essen as part of an extensive European tour.
“You never know what’s coming next. Not many artists my age are lucky enough to release relevant records. The most important thing is to keep moving. I have to make sure I take pride in my work. If I can do that, I’m happy.” Since the singer, composer and all-round musician, born in 1966 in Chapel Hill / North Carolina, released his first album with his trio BEN FOLDS FIVE in the mid-1990s at the age of 29, he has been regarded as one of the most exciting artists on the sophisticated US rock and pop scene. Before that, he had devoted many years to self-taught learning of numerous instruments, worked as a bassist on Broadway or as a session drummer in Nashville and studied the entire oeuvre of his piano heroes ELTON JOHN, BILLY JOEL and TODD RUNDGREN.
With BEN FOLDS FIVE, who disbanded in 2000 and made a triumphant return in 2012 with the album ‘The Sound of the Life of the Mind’, FOLDS had pursued a sound aesthetic that he himself described as “punk rock for sissies”. What was crucial here was that the trio’s attitude, drive and energy carried punk rock traits - and that without electric guitars, but based on bass, drums and his pounding piano. A successful solo career followed, with classic albums like ‘Rockin’ the Suburbs’, ‘Songs for Silverman’ or ‘Way to Normal’, he found more and more fans all over the world, who turned his concerts into true masses of piano playing. Many of these fans were and are of a prominent nature, which gave the composer, who is exceptionally gifted, more and more opportunities for exciting collaborations. BEN FOLDS produced albums by AMANDA PALMER and “Captain Kirk” WILLIAM SHATNER, among others; together with the two songwriters BEN LEE and BEN KWELLER he founded the trio THE BENS, which went on tour and released a record; and with the British star author NICK HORNBY he wrote and produced the album ‘Lonely Avenue’.
Since his last solo album ‘So There’ in 2015, which included his first self-composed classical piano concerto, the world has been eagerly awaiting new BEN FOLDS music. He has filled the time since then with writing his autobiography entitled ‘A Dream About Lightning Bugs’, and in his podcast of the same name he regularly welcomes exciting artists from a wide range of disciplines between visual arts, photography, acting and directing, writing and music. Now, in 2023, the time has finally come: with ‘What Matters Most’, his new album will be released. And in the course of it, you can finally experience his incomparable live performance in Germany once again.
German Tour Dates
25 Nov 2023 - Berlin / Admiralspalast
26 Nov 2023 - Wiesbaden / Kurhaus Wiesbaden
04 Dec 2023 - Essen / Lichtburg
Additional Concert Info
Doors: 19:00
Start: 12:00
Tickets: are available for 49.20 € (+ charges/shipping) via Eventim
Info: https://prime-entertainment.de/veranstaltung/ben-folds/
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