History
A collaboration between Victor Rasgaitis (guitar, vocals) and Talor Smith (cello, vocals), The Ridges formed at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. The duo is supported live by a rotating cast of musicians adding classical and folk rock instruments ranging from cellos, violins, upright bass, and horns to banjo, mandolin, accordion, and drums. By augmenting their aggressive, high-energy performances with haunting, all-acoustic instrumentation, The Ridges craft their own unique brand of indie rock compositions. It’s a distinct sound that overflows with the dark romanticism of their ominous namesake — Athens' abandoned Victorian-style insane asylum where the band recorded their self-titled EP.
Known for bringing an electrifying energy to acoustic music, MidPoint Music Festival called them "a rootsier, catchier Arcade Fire," while Daytrotter.com described their sound as "the kind of Americana music that falls off the bone." It’s this unique duality that has found The Ridges just as comfortable sharing the stage with folk favorites like Ben Sollee, Jessica Lea Mayfield, and Horse Feathers, as when they're playing with indie rockers like Ra Ra Riot, Kishi Bashi, and Good Old War. A live band in every sense, they've honed their dynamic performance by supporting national headliners and independently touring the Midwest, East Coast, and South, while bringing stand-out showcases to Ohio's MidPoint Music Festival, New York City's CBGB Festival, and a total of 13 showcases at SXSW in Austin, TX.
Never satisfied with anything less than unforgettable, The Ridges are committed to finding new ways to surprise their fans with fresh ideas. From an in-theater live film score to a Record Store Day exclusive choral recording, The Ridges' passion for creatively customizing their definition of an indie band has gained them national momentum.
Paleface is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and artist who has been active in the music business in the United States since 1989. He tours on a full-time basis as duo with longtime girlfriend, Puerto Rican drummer Monica "Mo" Samalot.
The music of Athens, Georgia includes a wide variety of popular music and was an important part of the early evolution of alternative rock and new wave. The city is well known as the home of chart-topping bands like R.E.M., Widespread Panic, The B-52's, the Indigo Girls, and several long-time indie rock groups. Athens hosts the Athens Symphony Orchestra and other music institutions, as well as prominent local music media, such as the college radio station WUOG. Much of the modern Athens music scene relies on students from the large University of Georgia campus in the city. The University sponsors Western classical performances and groups specializing in other styles.
MidPoint Music Festival (MPMF) was an annual three-day independent music festival and music industry conference held in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, from 2001 to 2017. The event took place every September in the city's downtown and historic Over-the-Rhine entertainment district. It was founded by Cincinnati musicians Bill Donabedian and Sean Rhiney. The festival was acquired in 2008 by Cincinnati CityBeat, a weekly alternative newspaper. In 2016, it was acquired by Music and Event Management Inc. (MEMI).
ilyAIMY is an American folk music band.
Ben Sollee is an American cellist, singer-songwriter, and composer known for his political activism. His music incorporates banjo, guitar, and mandolin along with percussion and unusual cello techniques. His songs exhibit a mix of folk, bluegrass, jazz, and R&B elements. Sollee has also composed longer instrumental pieces for dance ensembles and for film. Sollee revealed on Twitter that, in the fall of 2020, he contracted COVID-19. The following year, he tweeted that, as a result, he now suffers from long covid.
Ra Ra Riot is an American indie rock band consisting of vocalist Wes Miles, bassist Mathieu Santos, guitarist Milo Bonacci, violinist Rebecca Zeller and drummer Kenny Bernard.
Southeast Engine is an indie-folk-rock band from Athens, Ohio. With the help of The Wrens, the band signed with Misra Records in 2007 and released their first internationally distributed album later that year. Their music has seen critical acclaim from NPR, Pitchfork. The A.V. Club, and more.
The Rhumb Line is the debut LP for the Syracuse-based indie rock band Ra Ra Riot. Recorded in late 2007 with Ryan Hadlock in Woodinville, WA, the band released their debut album on August 19, 2008, through Seattle-based indie label Barsuk Records. The album peaked at #109 on the Billboard 200. This album was ranked as the 38th best album of 2008 by Rolling Stone.
The Pygmalion Festival, known also as PYGMALION, is a multi-day festival named for the Slowdive album of the same name, which takes place in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, United States every September. Shows run concurrently at multiple venues, in the style of SXSW. Local bands are showcased along with national touring acts such as Of Montreal, Man Man, Yo La Tengo, Andrew Bird, Wavves, Black Mountain, Iron & Wine, Dan Deacon, and Okkervil River. It has expanded in scope each year since its inception, and received coverage on sites such as Pitchfork Media, Daytrotter, and Tiny Mix Tapes.
My Jerusalem is an American Indie Rock band based in Austin, Texas. The band consists of Jeff Klein (vocals) and Ross Dubois. The band rose to critical acclaim after releasing their debut album Gone For Good.
The Lovely Sparrows is an Austin, Texas based indie rock band currently on Abandoned Love Records and founded by Shawn Jones. Their sound is categorized as indie rock, folk rock, experimental rock, alternative rock, or just rock, blending lush, complex arrangements with sing-along choruses that bring to mind folk-inflected pop and well-written novellas. Pulling Up Floors, Pouring on (New) Paint, released in 2006, captures the gorgeous melodies and warm, organic maladies of front man Shawn Jones. The September 2008 release saw the band embark on its most extensive touring to date, which included CMJ Music Marathon, Pop Montreal and South by Southwest in Austin, Texas. The Lovely Sparrows premiered the music video directed and animated by Eric Power of Clear Productions for "Year of the Dog" off Bury the Cynic during the 2009 SXSW Music Festival in Austin, Texas. The video was honored as one of the 25 best music videos of the year 2008 by MusicForants.com. Bury the Cynics was on the best of list by Fensepost, The Bomb Shelter (#11), the Austinist (#5), Side One: Track One v1 (#7) and Side One: Track One v2 (#1).
The Uglysuit were an indie rock band from Oklahoma City. The lineup was made up of Israel Hindman, Kyle Mayfield, Crosby Bray, Jonathan Martin, Colin Bray, and Dustin Maynord.
We Barbarians were an American three-piece indie rock band based in Brooklyn, originally from Long Beach, California. The band consisted of David Quon, Derek VanHeule, and Nathan Warkentin. Their debut studio album, There's This There's That, was released on December 15, 2009. The band's latest EP, Headspace, was released August 30, 2011.
Kaoru Ishibashi, who performs as Kishi Bashi, is an American singer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter currently based in Athens, Georgia. He was a founding member of Jupiter One and, for a few years, was a member of the band of Montreal. He embarked on his career as a solo artist in 2011, releasing his debut album 151a at Joyful Noise Recordings in 2012 to immediate fanfare and critical acclaim.
Little Tybee is an experimental, progressive folk-rock band based out of Atlanta, GA. Since their beginnings in 2009, the band has released 4 full length albums and conducted numerous tours, the most recent being a full-US run in support of CHON and Tera Melos. Stylistically, the band fuses together elements from folk, psychedelic rock, indie music, jazz, soul, and other diverse influences. While the band utilizes a "democratic" composition process, vocalist Brock Scott has been described by bandmate Josh Martin as "typically [the] primary songwriter".
The Lighthouse and the Whaler is an American band from Cleveland, Ohio. Originally a folk rock trio, they eventually became a rock quartet. The group's second album, This is an Adventure, was produced by Ryan Hadlock and independently released in 2012 and received critical praise for its genre-bending melodic folk.
Quilt is a four-piece psychedelic indie rock band from Boston consisting of Anna Fox Rochinski (vocals/guitars), Shane Butler (vocals/guitars), Keven Lareau (vocals/bass) and John Andrews (vocals/drums). They have released three albums, an EP, and a handful of singles through Mexican Summer. The band tours internationally. The band writes collaboratively and share vocal duties. They were born out of a local improv scene, and combine elements of folk-rock, psychedelia and dream pop.
Lighght is the second studio album by indie pop artist Kishi Bashi. It was released on May 13, 2014. It was produced by Kishi Bashi and recorded in multiple locations, including Home Studios in Athens, Georgia and Clay Garden Studios in Norfolk, Virginia.
Amasa Hines is an American rock band from Little Rock, Arkansas.
Tall Tall Trees is the musical pseudonym of vocalist and multi-instrumentalist banjo player Mike Savino. Though occasionally joined by collaborators, Savino usually performs as a "one-man psychedelic indie-folk orchestra" when playing as Tall Tall Trees. He is acknowledged as a pioneer in the world of experimental banjo music. The name of the project was inspired by the George Jones-Roger Miller song of the same name.
