Ben Folds Announces Solo Australian Tour For February 2026

Ben Folds has announced his first run of Australian shows in five years, returning down under in February 2026. The veteran American singer-songwriter will be undertaking a solo tour, succinctly dubbed the Ben Folds And A Piano tour, and will see him performing in most capital cities as well as his first-ever shows in Thirroul on NSW’s south coast and Bendigo in central-western Victoria. The full list of Folds’ tour dates, as well as pre-sale and ticketing information, can be found below.

Folds last came to Australia in March 2020 for what was supposed to be a fortnight of shows playing with the symphony orchestra of each city he was performing in. A week after Folds arrived in the country, however, the COVID-19 pandemic erupted globally and left him stranded in Sydney. Unable to return to his Santa Monica home, Folds instead began work on his next solo album and the follow-up to his 2019 memoir A Dream About Lightning Bugs. He ultimately left Australia in 2021, following shows at Sydney’s Sunset Piazza and the Hunter Valley’s Cellar Door Series.

Said album that Folds was working on while in isolation in Australia, What Matters Most, was ultimately released in June 2023 via New West Records. Its follow-up, Folds’ first-ever Christmas album Sleigher, was released in October of 2024. His most recent release was a live album, Ben Folds Live With The National Symphony Orchestra, which was released in June of 2025.

Ben Folds – ‘Still Fighting It’

Folds has been coming to Australia for almost 30 years, having first visited with his previous band Ben Folds Five circa 1997. Earlier that year, the band had come in at number three in the 1996 triple j Hottest 100 with their song ‘Underground’. The band performed at that year’s Livid Festival, as well as that year’s ARIA Awards ceremony. Infamously, the band performed an uncensored version of their song ‘One Angry Dwarf And 200 Solemn Faces’ on Mornings With Kerri-Anne, with Folds throwing his stool at the rented grand piano and infuriating musical director Geoff Harvey.

Following Ben Folds Five’s split in 2000, Folds undertook his first solo tour of the country in August 2001, ahead of his debut solo album Rockin’ The Suburbs being released on the untimely date of September 11th. He has returned in multiple guises in the almost 25 years since, including solo by-request tours, orchestral tours and a reunion with Ben Folds Five for the final Harvest Festival in 2012. He also lived in Adelaide between 1999 and 2006, due to his wife at the time being from there.

Ben Folds And A Piano 2026 Tour

• Wednesday, February 18th – Fortitude Music Hall, Brisbane QLD
• Friday, February 20th – State Theatre, Sydney NSW
• Saturday, February 21st – Anita’s Theatre, Thirroul NSW
• Sunday, February 22nd – Canberra Theatre, Canberra ACT
• Tuesday, February 24th – Thebarton Theatre, Adelaide SA
• Thursday, February 26th – Palais Theatre, Melbourne VIC
• Friday, February 27th – Ulumbarra Theatre, Bendigo VIC
• Sunday, March 1st – Riverside Theatre, Perth WA

A pre-sale for the tour will run from 10am local time on Monday, August 11th. General sale will then follow on Tuesday, August 12th at 11am local time. Both can be accessed via Frontier Touring.

Further Reading

Ben Folds: 10 Essential Tracks

Geese’s Cameron Winter Announces Solo Australian Debut For February 2026

Electric Six Announce 2026 Australian Tour Dates