Open for the Boston Pops with Ben Folds & Conductor Keith Lockhart

Don't miss your LAST CHANCE to submit to open for Ben Folds' performance with the Boston Pops is coming up soon. One Sonicbids artist will be selected by Mr. Folds and Mr. Lockhart for an incredible opportunity to open for Ben Folds' performance with the Pops. They'll also receive $1,000.00 USD./n/nThe Boston Pops, conductor Keith Lockhart and singer-songwriter Ben Folds are giving one Sonicbids artist an incredible opportunity to open for Ben Folds' performance with the Boston Pops. The selected artist will receive $1,000.00 USD for travel and hotel accommodations and will be selected by Mr. Folds and Mr. Lockhart, themselves. The show takes place on Friday, October 2nd, 2009.



The selected artist will perform a 25-30 minute opening set on the main stage in front of a sold-out Symphony Hall crowd. This is the first ever out-of-season Pops EdgeFest performance. Ben Folds last performed with Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops on Opening Night at Pops in May 2007. Tickets are already on sale (at bostonpops.org).



Mr. Folds and Mr. Lockhart will be considering artists from all locations and of all genres, but because the orchestra and Ben Folds equipment will already be set on stage, the selected artist(s) must be able to quickly move on/off-stage and easily carry and plug in their own instrument(s). No full drum-kits are allowed, and performers who are able to do a stripped-down, singer-songwriter-style set will be given preference. Pianists will have to provide their own keyboard.

BEN FOLDS

Ben Folds is best known as a solo artist and as the frontman and pianist of Ben Folds Five. Whereas most alternative bands of the '90s specialized in distorted teen-angst rock, the guitarless trio (piano, bass, drums) was a refreshing break from the norm, putting on a high energy, blistering live show. After three studio albums, the band broke up in 2000 due to artistic differences. In 2001, Folds released his first solo album, “Rockin’ the Suburbs,” which went on to sell more than half a million records , His most recent release, “Way to Normal,” is his third studio album, and is dominated by the kind of irresistible hooks and piano-pounding pandemonium that listeners will remember from Ben Folds Five.

Consistently touring, Ben Folds has earned a reputation for his wit, musicality and charismatic, energetic live shows and for being a leader in youth-oriented worlds of developing technologies and trends. Ben was one of the earliest supporters of iTunes and received much attention for being one of the first artists to support and participate in Second Life, an internet-based virtual world. In 2006, Folds became the first artist to do a live performance webcast on Myspace.com.

For more on Ben Folds, visit benfolds.com.

KEITH LOCKHART

Keith Lockhart became the twentieth conductor of the Boston Pops in 1995, following in a Pops tradition established by his predecessors John Williams and Arthur Fiedler. Mr. Lockhart has worked with a wide array of established artists from virtually every corner of the entertainment world, while also promoting programs that focus on talented young musicians. During his 14-year tenure, he has conducted more than 1,000 Boston Pops concerts and introduced the innovative JazzFest and EdgeFest series, which feature the Pops performing with prominent jazz and indie artists. Mr. Lockhart and the Boston Pops have released four self-produced recordings (available at bostonpops.org), have recorded eight albums with RCA Victor, and made 67 television shows in addition to the annual Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular, broadcast nationally on CBS Television.



For more on Keith Lockhart, visit keithlockhart.com.

THE BOSTON POPS

The Boston Symphony Orchestra presented the first of its programs of lighter music, originally called “Promenade Concerts,” in 1885. Audiences called them “Popular Concerts,” “Pops” for short, and in 1900 the name was officially changed to the Boston Pops. The Boston Pops has always embraced modern pop culture and combined it with classical music to introduce people to orchestral music in a fun and appealing way. Few other American institutions have lasted as long or been as widely loved as the orchestra’s annual concert tours and Fourth of July show on Boston’s Esplanade. The list of guest artists who have performed with the orchestra is legendary, and includes icons such as Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, Benny Goodman, Ray Charles, Sarah Vaughan, Johnny Cash, Sammy Davis, Jr., and more recent superstars James Taylor, Bono, Sting, John Mayer, Elvis Costello, My Morning Jacket, and Ben Folds.

For more on the Boston Pops, visit bostonpops.com.