Days before Kilby Block Fest took over the city — and plenty of its headlines — a well-known nineties alternative rock icon casually slipped in for a quick show with the Utah Symphony for a one-night-only affair downtown. It’s OK if you missed it. It’s doubly OK if you kick yourself for missing it. Ben Folds played with the Utah Symphony on May 12, 2026, as they very ably tackled songs from this past catalog like “Landed” and “The Luckiest,” 16 songs in all.
It’s wild when this takes place. Or that it happens as often as it does. You might wonder who has written music capable of the orchestral treatment. You may disregard those who’ve already done so. But Folds did this at the Kennedy Center for the better part of a decade, right up until last year. As the first Artistic Advisor of the National Symphony Orchestra, he curated the Declassified series there, pairing contemporary musicians with classical orchestras. In short, he’s had plenty of practice.
Still, it’s got to be nothing short of mind expanding to discover new layers within your own music by tapping a 60+ strong group of classically-trained musicians to help find them. Maybe it’s humbling. Maybe it serves to give you a big head. But it’s exciting, this meshing of worlds. And instead of being particularly jarring, it feels natural, and the group is more than up to the task.
It was a rare night of curiosity matched with familiarity, and I’m so glad I got to see what happens when musicians disregard barriers. It’s kind of Folds’ mission at this point, and perhaps a good reason why he performs with symphonies so often. When we’re allowed long peeks inside, when we see the wheels as they turn, it allows us to grasp at more than we ever bargained for in a concert. It’s still storytelling. It’s still singing along. But it forces us to hear and see the music we connect deeply with in altogether new ways.
Would I have loved to hear “Brick” with his new friends giving it extra oomph? Would “Rockin’ The Suburbs” have been fully chaotic fun with a lot of horns and strings unifying? Folds chose to play neither, but imagining either/both in that beautiful setting is still a gift. It’s nearly enough.
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