Ben Folds - A Dream About Lightning Bugs

From genre-defying musical icon Ben Folds comes a memoir reflecting on art, life and music that is as nuanced, witty and relatable as his cult classic songs!  

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He joins Simon Marnie of ABC Radio to discuss A Dream About Lightning Bugs, his life, lessons, and musical journey. 

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This will be a special night! 

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About the Book

Ben Folds is the internationally celebrated musician, singer-songwriter and former frontman of the alternative rock band, Ben Folds Five, beloved for songs such as ‘Brick’, ‘You Don’t Know  Me’, ‘Rockin’ the Suburbs’ and ‘The Luckiest’.  

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In A Dream About Lightning Bugs, Folds looks back at his life so far in a charming, funny and wise chronicle of his artistic coming of age, infused with the wry observations of a natural storyteller. He opens up about finding his voice as a musician, becoming a rock anti-hero, and hauling a baby grand piano on and off stage for every performance.  

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From growing up in working class North Carolina amid the race and class tensions that shaped his early songwriting, to painful life lessons he learned the hard way, he also ruminates on music in the digital age, the absurdity of life on the road, and the challenges of sustaining a multi-decade, multi-faceted career in the music business.    

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A Dream About Lightning Bugs  embodies what Folds has been singing about for years: Smile like you’ve  got nothing to prove because it hurts to grow up, and life flies by in seconds.  

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Praise

‘I read this in one glorious, giant gulp. As a fan and a musician, this  is truly a gift ... moments for me to geek out, moments to laugh and cry  and many fragments of pure, hard won wisdom and honesty’ Jamie Cullum 

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‘A Dream About Lightning Bugs  reads like its author: intelligent, curious, unapologetically punk, and  funny as hell. This intimate look at his life from his own unique  perspective is a rare and unforgettable gift that does what Ben Folds  always has done for me as an artist and a friend: encourages me to be  more myself, with a lot of swear words’ Sara Bareilles. 

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‘A  masterfully written memoir, and so much more. Folds imbues this  literary work with keen insight and humor to create an elegant and  moving tribute to art and life itself.’ Daniel Levitin, author of #1 New York Times bestseller This Is Your Brain on Music and The Organized Mind.

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‘Besides being super talented, and an incredibly poignant and  multifaceted musician, Ben Folds is a fantastic author. I couldn’t put  this book down – and not just because I taped it to my hand. Ben takes  us into his mind and into his process from the very beginnings of his  childhood to where he is today – one of the greatest musicians and  writers that has ever graced the art.’ Bob Saget