Ben Folds Solo: Paper Airplane Request Tour

Ben Folds performs solo in a format where the audience writes song requests on paper, folds them into aeroplanes and launches them towards the stage. The evening is held at the Royal Festival Hall in London.

Ben Folds is an American musician associated with pop, active since 1988, who has released records on Epic Records, including the album Rockin'the Suburbs (2001). Before this solo visit, Folds has also been part of Ben Folds Five and has worked with symphony orchestras, having served for eight years as the first Artistic Advisor to the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC.

The evening is built around requests. The first half follows a standard set. After an interval, members of the audience are invited to throw their paper aeroplanes, each carrying a favourite Folds song, onto the stage. Folds then picks requests at random from those landing there, playing one after another. Attendees may bring aeroplanes already made, or assemble them on site with paper and pens sold at the merchandise table.

The Royal Festival Hall, on the South Bank, hosts concerts and shows throughout the year. The format suits listeners who know Folds's songs well and want to choose part of the programme themselves.