Ben Folds

Biography

Benjamin Scott Folds (born September 12, 1966) is an American singer-songwriter. After playing in several small independent bands from the late 1980s through the early '90s, Folds came to prominence as the frontman and pianist of the alternative rock trio Ben Folds Five from 1993 to 2000, and again during their reunion from 2011 to 2013. Folds has recorded a number of solo albums, most recently Ben Folds Live with the National Symphony Orchestra (2025). He has also collaborated with musicians such as Regina Spektor, "Weird Al" Yankovic and yMusic, and undertaken experimental songwriting projects with actor William Shatner and authors such as Nick Hornby and Neil Gaiman. Folds was the artistic advisor to the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. from 2017 until 2025.

Folds has frequently performed arrangements of his music with uncommon instrumentation for rock and pop music, including symphony orchestras and a cappella groups. In addition to contributing music to the soundtracks of the animated films Hoodwinked! and Over the Hedge, Folds has produced several albums, including Amanda Palmer's debut solo album, Who Killed Amanda Palmer (2008).

Folds was also a judge on the NBC a cappella singing contest The Sing-Off from 2009 to 2013. In July 2019 he published his first book, a memoir titled A Dream About Lightning Bugs.

Biography excerpt from Wikipedia contributors, available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Formatting and reference markers have been removed; the introduction may be shortened. View contributors and article history.

Source revision used for this excerpt