Ben Folds Credit: Allan Amato/New West Records

In November, singer-songwriter Ben Folds was supposed to bring his solo, “In Actual Person Live For Real” tour to Tampa’s fairly-new Seminole Hard Rock Cafe Event Center. But due to vaccine mandates being outlawed in Florida—not to mention its outrageous infection numbers—he decided to postpone the Tampa date, along with fellow cities that COVID-19 exposure was practically inevitable in.

After months of waiting, it appears that the man behind “Still Fighting It” has rescheduled his appearance at the Hard Rock to Sunday, April 10. While Folds will most likely demand that masks be worn and that vaccine cards or *eyeroll* COVID-19 tests be shown at the door, the Hard Rock has been implementing a “masks are voluntary” policy since May.

It’s been five years since Folds last played in Tampa Bay, which was a night of literal paper airplane requests at the Straz Center. Tickets to this show are unfortunately long sold-out, and you still have to be 21 or older to enter.

This article appears in Jan 20-26, 2022.