Ben Folds will be performing a solo piano concert in Central New York.

Many people consider Ben Folds to be one of the most important musical influences of our day. The Emmy-nominated singer-songwriter-composer has produced a vast amount of music that defies genres, including pop albums with Ben Folds Five, several solo albums, and a large number of joint recordings.

He has performed with some of the best symphony orchestras in the world and traveled as a pop performer for the past thirty years.

Ben, a New York Times Best Selling book and podcast presenter, is also the Artistic Advisor to the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, a composer for film, television, and theater, and a guest star in movies and television shows.

Ben has long been an advocate for funding for the arts and music education. In his home state of North Carolina, he started a charity program called "Keys For Kids," which gives money and keyboards to already-existing nonprofits that offer interested school-age children free or reasonably priced music lessons. He is involved on a national level as a member of the Arts Action Fund and Americans For The Arts.

Another pianist is coming to Central New York shortly, but Billy Joel's performance in Syracuse has been postponed by a year.

Tickets will be available on etix.com starting at 10 a.m. on Friday, March 14. Tickets start at $50, with $1 going to Ben Folds' charity, Keys For Kids.

The singer-songwriter's "Ben Folds & A Piano Tour" includes two stops in New York state, including this one. On June 20, he will also play at the Tarrytown Music Hall.

Folds, 58, is a piano-rock musician who is most recognized for his solo and frontman roles with Ben Folds Five. Popular tracks include "Brick," "Army," "The Luckiest," "Philosophy," "Rockin' the Suburbs," and "Song for the Dumped." A live version of "Landed," recorded at Syracuse University, was included in a special edition of his 2005 CD "tracks for Silverman."

Several well-known artists, including "Weird Al" Yankovic, Regina Spektor, Amanda Palmer, author Nick Hornby, "Star Trek" actor William Shatner, and a number of a cappella groups, have also worked with Folds. From 2009 to 2013, he judged "The Sing-Off," an NBC singing competition.