Ben Folds, who plays David A. Straz Center for the Performing Arts in Tampa, Florida on Nov. 23, 2024. Credit: Photo by Alysse Gafkjen

Hecklers are gonna love this. Ben Folds is expanding his requests tour, which is now coming to Tampa Bay.

During the show, fans of the 57-year-old songwriter, arts advocate and founder of Ben Folds Five are encouraged to launch their requests onto the stage via paper airplane (you haven’t forgotten how to fold one have you?).

Folds has only played a handful of headlining shows this year, and they were all in support of his 2024 album What Matters Most, so it’s still unclear how the format will affect the makeup of the setlist.

A rep for Folds, however, told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay that he plays a setlist for the first 45 minutes. An intermission gives fans time to get paper from the merch table and work on their requests. “At the end of intermission, there will be a countdown for the launch of the paper airplanes. Ben then returns to the stage to spend the second 45 minutes of the show randomly picking up planes and playing song requests gleaned from those that landed on stage,” Harper Beattie of Big Hassle Media added.

Tickets to see Ben Folds play Ferguson Hall at Tampa’s David A. Straz Center for the Performing Arts on Saturday, Nov. 23 start at $44.50 and go on sale to the public on Friday, May 3.

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