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Artist

Ben Folds

Ben Folds is an act on the Starverb influence map. Their sound grew out of Novel, Regina Spektor, Daryl Hall, Brittany Howard and Joe Jackson. Those roots explain a lot about how Ben Folds arrange songs and choose their tones. They run in the same orbit as Ben Folds Five, Guster, Jukebox the Ghost, OK Go and Jack's Mannequin, sharing audiences, venues and reference points rather than a straight line of influence. Their influence carried into Regina Spektor, Amanda Palmer, Pomplamoose, Anderson East and The Divine Comedy, where the same ideas turn up rearranged for a later generation. Altogether the chart holds 47 connections around Ben Folds, reaching back through Novel and forward to Regina Spektor. Follow any of those threads to keep travelling the influence between bands and genres on Starverb.

Background

Benjamin Scott Folds 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 Sleigher (2024). 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.

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Roots — what shaped themLegacy — who they shapedKindred — same orbit
Ben FoldsNovelRegina SpektorDaryl HallBrittany HowardJoe JacksonThe Postal ServiceMiniature TigersBoston Pops OrchestraRegina SpektorAmanda PalmerPomplamooseAnderson EastThe Divine ComedyNicole ScherzingerSam TsuiJacob CollierBen Folds FiveGusterJukebox the GhostOK GoJack's MannequinEelsThe FormatMatthew Sweet

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Ben Folds connections

Ben Folds grew out of Novel, Regina Spektor, Daryl Hall and Brittany Howard, shares an orbit with Ben Folds Five, Guster, Jukebox the Ghost and OK Go, went on to shape Regina Spektor, Amanda Palmer, Pomplamoose and Anderson East. 47 connections mapped across roots, kindred and legacy.

Who influenced Ben Folds

Roots12

Sounds and acts that shaped Ben Folds.

Artists similar to Ben Folds

Kindred20

Artists and scenes sharing an orbit with Ben Folds.

Bands Ben Folds shaped

Legacy15

Where the influence of Ben Folds travelled next.

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