Ben Folds Returns to Raleigh for Benefit Concert Supporting Free Music Education for North Carolina Students
RALEIGH, N.C. – Platinum-selling singer-songwriter Ben Folds will return to Raleigh on Saturday, May 30 for a special benefit concert at Meymandi Concert Hall supporting Keys for Kids, his nonprofit initiative providing free piano lessons to children across North Carolina.
Founded in 2022, Keys for Kids provides up to 400 young people each year with free piano lessons through a network of nonprofit partners statewide. Many participating students live in rural or underserved communities where school-based music instruction is limited or unavailable.
“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,” said Folds. “Music enhances our ability to learn, to communicate, and to be inspired in all facets of our lives.”
The evening will celebrate the transformative impact of music education while raising funds to expand access for young people across the state. Students, instructors and representatives from Keys for Kids partner programs will attend the concert, and a silent auction will take place on site.
Keys for Kids works closely with the North Carolina Arts Foundation and the North Carolina Arts Council to expand access to music education opportunities statewide.
Community Music School of Raleigh was among this year’s program beneficiaries.
Event Details
WHAT: Keys for Kids Benefit Concert featuring Ben Folds
WHEN: Saturday, May 30
WHERE: Meymandi Concert Hall, Raleigh
BENEFICIARY: Keys for Kids North Carolina
MEDIA CONTACT: Brooke Poole, BBP Communications | 919-740-5141 | brooke@bbpcommunications.com
NOTE: High resolution images and interview opportunities are available upon request.
About Keys for Kids
Keys for Kids is a charitable initiative co-founded by North Carolina native Ben Folds and his manager Mike Kopp in partnership with the North Carolina Arts Council and the North Carolina Arts Foundation.
Its purpose is to provide young people in North Carolina who express an interest in learning to play piano the access to appropriate lessons and instruments at little or no cost.
Some students receive their lessons in schools, while others are taught at nonprofit centers.
About Ben Folds
Ben Folds is an Emmy-nominated singer-songwriter and best-selling author whose career spans over three decades. In addition to his years as frontman for Ben Folds Five and as a solo artist, he has performed with some of the world’s greatest symphony orchestras and served for eight years as artistic advisor to the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. He’s also a longtime advocate for music education, serving on the Artist Committee for Americans for the Arts and the Board of the Arts Action Fund. Ben credits early exposure to music as a child growing up in Winston-Salem as the inspiration for his creative journey as a professional musician.