Tomorrow, Friday, September 20th don't miss Carriers, Ruby Vileos, and ZOO at Fountain Square for Indie Fridays Powered by CincyMusic!

Curt Kiser's voice and music exist comfortably in the liminal space that Cincinnati, OH occupies—separated from Kentucky by the snaking bends of the Ohio River and owning a rich history of developing musical trends that flowed out from here after being metabolized by the larger public. See: James Brown, Hank Williams's "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry," Bootsy Collins, L.A. Reid, Hi-Tek, the second non-Pacific Northwest band to be signed to Sub Pop (The Afghan Whigs!), the inventor of circuit bending and, yes, Brassland's co-founders (Aaron and Bryce Dessner from The National).

Kiser found break-out success with Carriers’ debut LP Now Is The Time For Loving Me, Yourself & Everyone Else, winning album of the year at the Cincinnati Entertainment Awards and drawing praise from Paste Magazine, Consequence of Sound, Talkhouse, and more.

Formed way back in ‘98, Ruby Vileos is currently comprised of Ass Ponys guitarist Billy Alletzhauser, former Snaggletooth vocalist Ali Edwards, bassist Ben Franks, and Todd Drake rounding things out on drums. Last year they released, Nothing Between Us which operates in a sort of sonic liminal space, I think. It’s airy and dense at the same time, and has obvious sonic callbacks to the late 90’s and early 00’s. There are elements of post-grunge, Indie, and Americana, with vocals that sit alongside modern comparisons to Cincinnati’s rambunctious Lung, and the breathy delivery of singers like Tori Amos. - Jared Bowers

ZOO is the moniker of indie singer-songwriter Cory Pavlinac. Cory Pavlinac found his writer’s voice during late-night drives accompanied by music laureates Bob Dylan and Patti Smith. After his four years of exploration at Belmont University in Nashville, where he switched from majoring in jazz guitar to creative writing, Cory returned to Cincinnati and began his first DIY project.