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Ben Folds Throws a Paper Airplane Party in Nashville
by Rich and Laura Lynch
The Emmy-nominated, multi-platinum selling music artist Ben Folds returned to the Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Nashville Tennessee on Monday, December 02, 2024 as part of his Paper Airplane Request Tour. The planes are scheduled to fly into 2025 along with select dates that will feature Ben performing with various orchestras.
Ben Folds greets his paper-airplane making fans in Nashville.
Ben Folds is an author, musician and podcaster from Winston-Salem, North Carolina who now lives in Nashville. After playing in a number of indie bands throughout the late 80s and into the early 90s, he came into prominence as the frontman and pianist of the alternative rock trio Ben Folds Five.
Later he enjoyed success as a solo artist which lands us here at the Schermerhorn for the Paper Airplane Request Show where Ben invited fans to launch their song requests to the stage via paper airplanes.
Ben Folds returned to the Schermerhorn Symphony Center in December.
Set one opened with the insightful "Capable of Anything" paired with the reflective "Sentimental Guy". Folds talked about teaching songwriting virtually over the internet during the pandemic. Ben's process involved scouring newspaper headlines and then his students would tell a tale based on the articles he suggested.
Around that time Folds penned "Fragile" presenting the idea that the person who hurts you is often the one to cry. He continued discussing the art of songcraft with a tune comparing a girl he knew in the 7th grade to the modern-day version of Kristine.
Hundreds of planes littered the stage and dictated the course of the second half of the program.
"What Matters Most" was a response to the sudden loss of a close friend. It was a heavy song spoken from the heart punctuated by Ben's passionate piano playing which was potent throughout his show. He aptly closed the first half with "Annie Waits".
During the break a few hundred fans headed to the East Lobby where tables were set-up with paper and pens to create the vehicles that gave name to this tour. We watched in awe as mostly middle-aged fans and older called upon a lost skill that they learned long ago - and, like riding a bicycle several different designs soon took shape that enthusiastically had been folded this way and that by their creators before they personalized them with their name and song request title.
The talented Lindsey Kraft found some new fans to love her in Nashville.
Set two opened with a quick countdown as folks bombarded the stage with paper airplanes constructed over the break resulting in a sizable pile to choose from. Ben picked planes from different spots yet somehow one fan using the moniker "Sunshine" got two into the hands of the artist. Ben seemed amused as he said that he knew a little something about gaming the system - sharing that he was an early adaptor of iTunes and thus able to get some EPs up on that platform that were counted as charting full-length albums to good result.
He continued with a number of anecdotes as he played through the requests but generally he rejected covers except for the Beatles "Golden Slumbers". Perhaps the most impressive tune of the evening was a clever piece called "Rock This Bitch". The song was crafted on the spot based on some chord suggestions by Steven. At one point Ben did crumble some planes featuring song titles by The Scorpions and David Bowie explaining how the process helps him create a set that he would "never write". Finally, "The Luckiest" then "Fair" plus the encore of "Army" concluded a collaborative night of music on a high note.
Just some of the accolades and awards earned by the Nashville Symphony on display in the Balcony Lobby.
Opening for Ben was Lindsey Kraft an acclaimed actress, model, writer - and as explained during her time in the spotlight - a relative newcomer to the music industry. She is performing and promoting her musical Love Me - an ambitious one-woman show from the piano while chatting and singing about a number of significant relationships in her life. Kraft's somewhat unusual narrative was none-the-less compelling and kept the attendees in Nashville clearly engaged and entertained by tying in its beginning and conclusion with a musical moral centered on the universal concept of learning how to make one's own choices rather than allowing others to dictate your course.
By arriving early on a chilly night with snow flurries in the air we were able to roam around the expansive Schermerhorn taking in all floors and finally seeing all the awards that the Nashville Symphony - including Grammys and Emmys - has earned over the years located in the Balcony Lobby. Later, we were thrilled to view a very special art exhibit on loan all the way from Barcelona, Spain - that is on display and free to the public until mid-December. 'The New & Old World' presents a selection of medieval and renaissance European art, as well as baroque Novo-Hispanic art and more making it a must see in Music City.
'The New & Old World' brought a selection of medieval and renaissance European art to the Symphony.
Ben Folds Set 1: Capable of Anything | Sentimental Guy | Don't Change Your Plans | Fragile | Kristine From the 7th Grade | Effington | What Matters Most | We Could Have This | Annie Waits | Set 2: Paper Airplane Request | You Don't Know Me | Golden Slumbers | There's Always Someone Cooler Than You | Brick | Bruised | Do It Anyway | Twin Falls | Air | Rock This Bitch (impromptu for Steven in Nashville) | The Luckiest | Fair | Encore: | Army
The Schermerhorn Symphony Center continues to present a variety of artists such as Ben Folds and Lindsey Kraft. Located in downtown Nashville this beautiful venue which opened in 2006, hosts classical, jazz, pop, operas, rock and world musicians. Please check their website for a complete list of upcoming shows.
Ben Folds brought his Paper Airplane Request Tour to Nashville in 2024.
Related Links:
For more information on BEN FOLDS and the other organizations mentioned please visit the following links -
Ben Folds |
Lindsey Kraft |
Nashville Symphony
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