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A North Carolina native is hitting the stage this month for a good cause.
Singer-songwriter Ben Folds is set to perform this month in Raleigh. The concert will benefit his nonprofit Keys for Kids, which allows for hundreds of children in the state to receive free piano lessons.
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“My hope from the beginning has been to find ways to give all children the same chances I’ve had to experience what music has to offer,” Folds said in a Monday, May 18 news release. “Music enhances our ability to learn, to communicate, and to be inspired in all facets of our lives.”
Here’s what to know about the upcoming Raleigh concert, including when it will be held and how to buy tickets.
Folds is set to headline the concert, which will feature musician and actress Lindsey Kraft. The performance is scheduled for 8 p.m. Saturday, May 30, according to ticket vendor Ticketmaster.
The concert is planned for the Martin Marietta Center for the Performing Arts. The entertainment venue is at 2 E. South St. in downtown Raleigh.
The Martin Marietta Center on its website said the two parking lots once located outside its doors recently closed to allow for the construction of the Omni Raleigh Hotel. But concertgoers can find other surface lots and parking garages nearby.
Tickets for the concert already are on sale. You can find seats at ticketmaster.com.
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It’s not the first time Folds has planned to help people. After Hurricane Helene devastated parts of Western North Carolina, he was set to play at a benefit concert in Wilmington, The News & Observer reported in 2024.
Years earlier, he joined other musicians for “Under One Roof,” a virtual concert that raised money for the N.C. Arts Foundation during the coronavirus pandemic.
It’s not a surprise that Folds has supported efforts in North Carolina, given he was born and raised in the Triad and gained fame in Chapel Hill.
“Since the mid-1990s, he has created sardonic but tender piano rock unlike much else on the pop charts,” the N.C. Arts Council wrote on its website. “And his songs are seasoned by the special history and sensibility of the Tarheel state.”
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