At age 19, Kweller moved with his girlfriend, Liz Smith, to New York, where he began his solo career. He played solo acoustic shows and self-released four
EPs, comprising some of the unreleased Radish
Discount Fireworx recordings and other songs recorded in his apartment on a laptop computer. It was one of these EPs, ''
Freak Out, It's Ben Kweller'', that caught the attention of
Evan Dando of
The Lemonheads. Dando invited Kweller on tour with him.
Jeff Tweedy,
Juliana Hatfield and
Guster also noticed Kweller and took him on tour with them.
EP Phone Home and Sha Sha (2002) In 2001, Ben Kweller became
ATO Records' first worldwide signing and released a 5-track
EP entitled
EP Phone Home. In March 2002,
Sha Sha, Kweller's first solo studio LP, was released.
Sha Sha included the radio-friendly and popular single "Wasted & Ready", which reached No. 29 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart. The album featured John Kent on drums and Josh Lattanzi on bass, and showcased a wide variety of sound from quirky pop, to
folk, to
punk. The album grew in popularity with a grassroots effort based on his website and a promotion group called teamBK, which promoted via word-of-mouth advertising. To support the release of the album and EP, he put together a live band, initially composed of Lattanzi on bass, Fred Eltringham on drums, and Mike Stroud on guitar and keyboards. Towards the end of the
Sha Sha album cycle, the four-piece performed on
PBS's
Austin City Limits.
The Bens (2003) In 2003, Kweller toured Australia with
Ben Folds and
Ben Lee as
The Bens. The trio produced an eponymous four-song EP, with each member taking lead vocals on one song, and a final song in which they all contributed vocals. In an interview on October 14, 2006, Ben hinted that The Bens may do another album.
Guster collaboration (2003) Late in 2003, Kweller provided lead vocals on the song "I Hope Tomorrow is Like Today" from Guster's album
Keep It Together. Kweller and Guster co-wrote the song after a late night jam at Guster's
Brooklyn studio. The song is prominently featured in the movie
Wedding Crashers.
On My Way (2004) Kweller's second LP,
On My Way, took a new musical direction. The album, produced by
Ethan Johns, was recorded mostly live, with limited overdubs and no use of headphones. After the release of
On My Way, Kweller embarked on more touring. On these tours, Kweller played for his largest audiences ever, including a US tour co-headlining with
Death Cab for Cutie. By this point, the lineup of his live band had changed to include John Kent on drums and
Jason Roberts on guitar and keyboards, after Mike Stroud left to concentrate on his own band
Ratatat and Fred Eltringham left to play drums in
The Wallflowers.
Ben Kweller (2006) In 2006, he recorded his third LP,
Ben Kweller with producer
Gil Norton. Unlike the previous studio albums, Kweller played all the
instruments on this record himself. Kweller continued to tour to support his self-titled album, and expanded his band into a five-piece, which grew to include Dan Horne on bass, Mark Stepro on drums, Jay Barclay on guitar and organ and Jason Roberts on lead guitar. Kweller continued to play guitar and piano on this tour, but it also gave him the opportunity to just sing on certain songs. The Montreal group
Sam Roberts Band, and New York based
Hymns, opened for Kweller. His tie-in 'Trio on the Train Track Tour' included a new live band comprising
Chris Morrissey on bass, vocals & keyboard and Mark Stepro on drums, vocals,
glockenspiel, percussion & "whatever else he feels like" during appearances in the United States. During the Australian leg of the tour, the band was composed of Jay Barclay on guitar, keyboard & vocals, Dan Horne on bass & vocals, and Mark Stepro continuing his previous roles.
Changing Horses (2009) Changing Horses is Ben Kweller's fourth official studio album, which was expected for release in September 2008 but was pushed to February 2, 2009, in Europe and February 3, 2009, in the United States through
ATO Records. Kweller has described the new album as being more
country in style than his previous releases. The album features his rhythm section Chris Morrissey (bass) and Mark Stepro (drums). It also debuts the talents of Ben Kitterman, who played
pedal steel guitar and
Dobro. On November 23, 2008, the full album was leaked to the Internet. In a statement,
ATO Records said the leak was not the final version of the album. The song "Hurtin' You" debuted on
Stereogum, and the whole album was made available to stream exclusively on
Last.fm. In April 2009, Ben Kweller appeared at Australian festivals such as
Chill City,
East Coast Blues & Roots Music Festival and
West Coast Blues & Roots Festival.
Go Fly a Kite (2012) Kweller's fifth studio album,
Go Fly a Kite, was his first release produced solely by his own record label,
The Noise Company. In earlier interviews, Kweller had stated that it would be released as early as March or April 2011. However, a conversation with the manager of
The Noise Company revealed that it was now set to come out either late January or early February 2012. The delay in release is a result of Kweller's parting ways with his former record label,
ATO Records. This was confirmed by Kweller himself, onstage at Stubbs in Austin, Texas, on April 16, 2011. More recently, Kweller posted on his Twitter account that "Kite's" released date will be February 12, 2012. This was followed by a tweet saying that it will be available for pre-order in October. Kweller's album was released a few days earlier than expected on iTunes on February 7, 2012.
Circuit Boredom (2021) Ben Kweller's sixth studio album,
Circuit Boredom, likely started its production in 2018 and culminated with the album's global release on December 17, 2021. On June 23, 2018, Kweller announced via his
Instagram page that he would be releasing a new album soon. On January 22, 2019, Kweller announced his return to music after he and his family had a near-death experience after
carbon monoxide poisoning during a vacation in New Mexico. The new album,
Circuit Boredom, co-produced by Dwight A Baker, was released over the course of a year via multiple singles. Its first single, "Heart Attack Kid", was released on February 8, 2019. Kweller's music video for
Heart Attack Kid, was made in collaboration with Robert Strange of Superorganism and released on February 19, 2019. Other singles include "Just For Kids", "Only A Day", and "Starz". The official street date for
Circuit Boredom was Friday, December 17, 2021, when it was released to all DSP's worldwide. The Noise Company (record label) has said the album is a priority of theirs in 2022, starting with a radio campaign for the single "American Cigarettes" in early 2022. Limited edition vinyl was made available on Kweller's website.
Cover the Mirrors (2025) Kweller released his seventh studio album,
Cover the Mirrors, on May 30, 2025, via the Noise Company. ==Austin City Limits performances==