Ben Folds Five

Formed in 1993 in the alternative-rock breeding ground of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Ben Folds Five were three guys, zero guitars, and one glaring math problem.

Led by piano-pounding maestro Ben Folds, with Robert Sledge on bass and Darren Jessee on drums, the trio dubbed their distinctive sound “punk rock for sissies.” A smart-aleck collision of spaz rock, power pop, irresistible 70s AM melodies, pseudo-jazz, and copious lyrical mischief that proved you didn’t need aggro guitars to make a glorious ‘90s noise.

Their self-titled debut album landed in 1995, followed by 1997’s breakthrough Whatever and Ever Amen, featuring the unlikely hit “Brick.” Three studio albums, plus a collection of B-sides and outtakes later, the band split in 2000. They regrouped and released The Sound of the Life of the Mind and a Live Album in 2012, parting ways again in 2013.

Now celebrating the anniversary of their debut record with a return US tour, Ben Folds Five remain one of alternative rock’s great success stories: three unapologetic artists making sophisticated piano based alt-rock in a decade drowning in distorted guitars.