On Thursday, September 21st, the Kennedy Center glistened brightly on a crisp fall evening with an intricate and beautiful intersection of the American Arts - Hispanic-infused bluegrass at the Millenium stage, production of Moulin Rouge in the Opera House, and a sold-out Ben Folds performing at the Concert Hall.

Ben Folds is no stranger to the Washington DC Metro area and has been performing in Washington DC for almost as long as he has been touring, having first performed at the 9:30 Club in September 1995 with Ben Folds Five. Since then, he has performed at many of DC's iconic music halls and events, including  HFSival, Wolf Trap, DAR Constitution Hall, Merriweather Post Pavilion, and The Kennedy Center. His latest performance at The Kennedy Center would mark his twelfth appearance at this artistic mecca. Folds loves The Kennedy Center so much that for the last five years, he has been the National Symphony Orchestra's Artistic Advisor.  Folds would later talk about the honor of actually performing at The Kennedy Center again since so much of his interaction has been as advisor and not performer for this prestigious institution.

Ben Folds has always rocked the suburbs, but tonight, he would rock deep in the heart of Washington, DC, much to everyone's delight. Folds is one of the preeminent indie music performers of his generation and has been performing since the late 1990s, drawing in a wide range of music lovers - from indie rockers to fans of his virtuosic piano performance. As the audience walked into the concert hall, fans, young and old, took their seats, spotting the heartwarming sight of a young girl in a rainbow lace dress walking in beside her father, gently holding hands as they walked to their seats.

Before the main act, the audience was treated and transfixed by the performance of Lindsey Kraft. Within the first few moments of her first piece, concertgoers realized how perfect the pairing was. A burgeoning newcomer to musical performances, Kraft, in addition to her brilliant piano playing and songs, masterfully interacted with and entertained the audience with her witty and sincere songs. Kraft evoked Regina Spector influences with the delivery of Kate Micucci of Garfunkel and Oates.   Throughout her performance, Kraft shared many stories and anecdotes, including stories of meeting her idol, otherwise known as 'guitar hero,' how she secretly loved high school chorus, her longtime and childhood friend Jamie-Lynn Sigler of HBO Series The Sopranos fame, and the newfound and fantasy-driven relationship with audience member Alan. Kraft talked passionately about her upcoming play “love, me” which she is working on, and based on her performances supporting Ben Folds on his current tour, thousands of new fans are looking forward to her upcoming musical.

During the intermission, the main chatter in the theatre was Folds' recent Instagram post asking for song requests. Conversation and debates sifted about the theater as fans wondered what songs they would hear from Folds's massive catalog. One couple lovingly talked about how they hoped Folds would perform their wedding song - "The Luckiest." On previous appearances at The Kennedy Center, Ben Folds shared the stage with the National Symphony Orchestra, but tonight, all eyes would be on Folds and his singular grand piano at the center of the stage.

When Folds did take the stage, he was met with a rousing standing ovation by his adoring fans and he quickly settled into his performance by introducing the audience to the song "Exhausting Lover" off of his latest album What Matters Most as he segued into a fan favorite "Annie Waits." Folds is well known for his intimate interaction with audience members, and tonight would be no different. Folds would spend the next hour and a half captivating the audience with his piano playing, storytelling, sing-alongs, and leading fan participation. After performing "So There," Folds turned to the audience and began a long and casual conversation with approximately 2,500 of his friends. This was one of many such occasions that he would turn from the piano and turn to the audience and share stories, both real and imagined. Before performing "Kristine from the 7th Grade", Folds described conversing with a woman named Chris with a K and how if he bad-mouthed her, she would meet him in a dark room and "kick his ass with her shoes on."  

Throughout the evening, Ben Folds would change the feel in the room, alternating from gentle and tender songs to thunderous and ferociously played pieces to an audience that gleamed with every note and anecdote. Folds possesses the technical prowess to flawlessly execute each song as it was recorded; however, without any backing musicians, he chose to deliberately diverge from any written sheet music and instead channel his emotions and release them with every strike of the piano keys. When Folds channeled all of his energy into the keys, the concert hall resonated with passionate, complex, and thunderous music - much to the audience's delight. As much as the mood of the music changed, so did the beautifully lit backdrop.  Throughout the evening the organ pipes behind him were beautifully lit up with colorful and varying hues, adding to the grandeur of the performance.

Midway through the concert, Ben Folds made good on his Instagram request as he took out a list of accumulated song requests. For most of the remainder of the performance, Folds would perform preplanned songs interspersed with audience requests. As requested songs started to play, audience members let out cheers of joy and appreciation. Stories continued to flow as Folds noted "Still" became popular because Billie Eilish had covered it earlier this year and acknowledged before playing 1999 fan favorite, "Narcolepsy" - "Jesus, let's see if I can remember this song."

The hall would then resonate with passion as Ben Folds performed "All U Can Eat," which originated with a conversation between Ben and his father. Perhaps the biggest applause thus far came when the opening notes of "Landed" rang out, and then the audience quietly sat in their seats, taking in the beauty of this powerfully bittersweet song. One might have thought this was a Christmas Eve performance as you could have heard a pin drop touch down - "Landed" aside.

Perhaps the most poignant and personal story that Folds would share this evening was about the song "What Matters Most." He talked about during the pandemic how he went to a storage facility containing all of his worldly possessions, how he felt it was irresponsible to take up seven storage lockers just to store "stuff," and how he really needed to reflect on what matters the most to him. While writing this song and album, he received word that one of his best friends, whom he would generally text almost daily, had passed away, and how his passing further crystallized what mattered most in life. Ever the entertainer, Folds would end the story by telling the audience that he "put it a major key so it would be so f*cking sad."

The final half an hour of Folds' performance was certain to be cherished by the audience. As Folds began "Kate," he invited the audience to responsively sing along. What started out as a single responsive song became a 2500-person sing-along as the theatre echoed Folds's commanding performance and the audience's gleeful responsive lyrics and clapping during "You Don't Know Me" and finally "Zak and Sara."

As the main performance ended with "Zak and Sara," Folds took a bow and left the stage before returning to thunderous applause from the audience. Folds performed "Not The Same" and left the piano towards the song's end to conduct the audience's angelic chorus. Just when we thought the evening's performance was over, Folds dedicated his last song to a young couple he met outside Roxy and Harper - "The luckiest." Another couple, the one we had spoken to earlier in the evening, could be seen gleaning ear to ear while lovingly looking at one another and recalling their wedding dance. One could not have hoped for a better way to end an incredible performance by Ben Folds.

We look forward to the next time he performs at the majestic Kennedy Center and are truly grateful that Folds makes this institution a home away from home.