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.

[10] In the late 1980s, Folds (as a bassist) formed the band Majosha with longtime friends Evan Olson, Millard Powers, and Eddie Walker.

In 1999, the band released what was to be their final album for over a decade, The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner, which included the hit "Army".

As with many other 'alternative' American acts, this was largely due to consistent support from national broadcasters in those countries: in Britain the BBC and in Australia the ABC's Triple J youth radio network and ABC-TV's music video show Rage.

Folds' friend and fellow musician John McCrea, lead singer of the band Cake, contributed vocals to "Fred Jones, Part 2".

During a concert at the National Theatre in Richmond, Virginia on April 11, 2008, Folds announced that he had completed his newest album, and played four tracks from it.

On July 16, 2008, an anonymous user posted what they claimed was a "leak" of Folds' latest album on a fan site (eventually called Way to Normal (Fake)).

The file contained nine tracks along with a PDF of supposed cover art, and was a mix of what appeared to be legitimate songs from Way to Normal, pastiches of dry humor and melodramatic pop interwoven with bright, energetic melodies.

Folds explained on Triple J radio a few weeks later that in one overnight session in Dublin he and the band had recorded 'fake' versions of songs from the new album.

[26] Ben Folds Five reunited to perform its first concert appearance in nearly 10 years on September 18, 2008, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Memorial Hall.

[40] On May 11, 2017, Folds was appointed the first Artistic Advisor to the National Symphony Orchestra at The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.[3] His term was originally through the 2019–2020 season, but held the position until 2025.

Folds helps program NSO's Declassified series of concerts,[41] which presents classical and contemporary music in modern, "reimagined" ways.

With the National Symphony Orchestra, Folds collaborated with Mo Willems, contributing original music to a stage adaptation of Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs in 2022.

[45] In April 2021, he launched his own podcast, Lightning Bugs: Conversations with Ben Folds, speaking with various guests on their artistic processes and the nature of creativity.

In April 2022, Folds contributed the title song to the Peanuts streaming special It's The Small Things, Charlie Brown, released on Apple TV+ for Earth Day.

[57] According to music critic Nathan Rabin, the song "amplifies the noxious self-absorption of the American character to hilarious extremes" by describing a narrator who, upon hearing about a number of horrible tragedies, only complains about the (minor) inconveniences that affect him.

In August 2008, Folds played piano for friend and Japanese singer-songwriter Angela Aki's song "Black Glasses" on her album Answer.

Included with them was a cover of the Clash song "Lost in the Supermarket" and a recording of "Rockin' the Suburbs" featuring new lyrics written to complement the plot of the film.

Folds' song "Rockin' the Suburbs" was featured on the soundtrack for ABC's sitcom Surviving Suburbia, which aired in August 2009.

He was accompanied by Britt "Snüzz" Uzzell on guitar and electronic keyboard, Millard Powers on bass and keys, and Jim Bogios on drums.

[65] On May 9, 2008, Folds played his first completely solo show in years at Western Connecticut State University because his bassist Jared Reynolds was with his wife, who had just given birth to their first son.

At the Palais theatre in Melbourne, Missy Higgins joined him for "You Don't Know Me", a single from Way to Normal that Folds originally sang with Regina Spektor.

Ben Folds performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. for the 2012 Presidential Scholar in the Arts ceremony with several of YoungArts best alumni.

As part of their 2013 "Last Summer on Earth" Tour, Ben Folds Five joined the Barenaked Ladies along with Guster for 30 dates across North America, beginning June 17 at the Verizon Theatre in Dallas, Texas and ending at the 2013 Celebrate Brooklyn festival.

[71] On January 20, 2014, Folds performed at the El Rey Theatre, Los Angeles, in support of the David Lynch Foundation's celebration of Ringo Starr's "lifetime of peace and love".

[77] Starting in December 2009, Folds was featured as a judge on NBC's a cappella competition The Sing-Off alongside Nicole Scherzinger and Shawn Stockman.

"[83][84] In July 2019, Folds published his first book, a memoir, titled A Dream About Lightning Bugs: A Life of Music and Cheap Lessons.

In the podcast, Folds discusses creativity with guests from a variety of backgrounds and fields and writes a song with them at the end of every episode.

[90] Folds leased RCA Studio A in Nashville, Tennessee beginning in 2002 and was pivotal to the preservation of the historic building during its developer controversy in 2014.

[104] October 29, 2015, Folds was initiated as an honorary brother of the men's music fraternity Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia at the University of Miami.