Curt Kiser, of Cincinnati indie band Carriers. Carriers is headlining the FromOhio Music Festival in downtown Springfield. A festival map and full schedule are available at fromohiofest.com. CONTRIBUTED
Ohio has long been fertile ground for influential artists and musicians. This spring, downtown Springfield’s two-day FromOhio Music Festival returns for its eighth year with a renewed mission: celebrating the homegrown talent emerging from the indie corridor connecting Dayton, Cincinnati and Columbus.
The FromOhio Music Festival takes over downtown Springfield on Friday, May 29 and Saturday, May 30, bringing two days of live music, craft beer and local food to two venues. The event is free and open to the public.
The 2026 lineup features Carriers, The Ophelias, M Ross Perkins, Heather Redman & The Reputation, Mol Sullivan, crabswithoutlegs, Visitor, Multi Ultra, Novel Vibrations, Rug and Jess Lamb — a cross-section of Ohio indie, soul, psych-pop, shoegaze and funk acts.
Performances will take place at Mother Stewart’s Brewing, 102 W. Columbia St., and at the historic State Theater, 19 S. Fountain Ave.
With the exception of Nashville’s Multi Ultra, FromOhio narrows the focus to Ohio talent. Although the music is limited to this region, Greater Springfield Partnership Vice President, Destination Marketing + Communications Chris Schutte said that limitation doesn’t affect the diversity of the lineup.
“If you look at our past acts, we’ve been very diverse, and that’s by absolute design,” Schutte said. “We’ve had everything from punk to shoegaze to rap to alt-country. We really want to keep that diversity moving forward.”
Past performances have included Guided By Voices, Lydia Lovelace, Tommy Stinson and Brigitte Calls Me Baby.
The venues themselves offer distinct atmospheres: Mother Stewart’s has an outdoor beer garden vibe, while the State Theater is historic yet revitalized.
Craft brewing is still pivotal to the festival. This year, a tap takeover at Mother Stewart’s will host brews from across the state. There will also be a whiskey tasting at the State Theater on Friday. For those who don’t partake, Beyond Bottleshop, which specializes in non-alcoholic beverages, will offer social alternatives.
Plus, an activation station will allow attendees to stamp their own Ohio souvenir T-shirt or tote bag.
In an era when artists increasingly break through online, regional festivals like FromOhio still offer something algorithms can’t: discovery through community and live performance.
“I don’t think there’s ever going to be a replacement for the atmosphere of live music,” said Kristina Jarrell, GSP Downtown Events Programmer.
“The community nature of live music is something you just can’t replace,” Schutte said. “You get that little electric charge from that live performance that you just can’t get from listening to it.”
As FromOhio doubles down on its regional identity, one performer sees the festival as a reflection of the Ohio music community that shaped him.
Curt Kiser — leader of Cincinnati heartland, dreamy indie rock band, Carriers — was born in Kettering. Although he and his family worked their way down to southern Ohio — via Lebanon, Springboro, Middletown and eventually Cincinnati — Kiser cut his teeth playing music in Dayton.
The Dayton Dirt Collective, a bygone DIY spot downtown, was one of those early venues he played. Canal Street Tavern was another.
“I’m proud to be from Ohio, and to be someone who continues to make art and push,” Kiser said. “I’m a lifer. It’s cool to be part of the story of music that comes out of our state. I grew up here. I’m still not very far from here.”
Carriers has shared stages with heavyweights like Big Thief, Band of Horses and Heartless Bastards, while the band’s recent Brassland debut, “Every Time I Feel Afraid,” earned praise from outlets including Stereogum, Consequence and Bandcamp.
But in a music culture that tells artists they need to leave home to matter, Kiser argues against that idea.
“You don’t need to, especially with how people hear music today,” he said. “This is why so many artists love touring through here, because there are so many cities within a few hours’ drive of here. There’s also a community.”
For Kiser, festivals like FromOhio are proof that artists don’t need to abandon the Midwest to build meaningful creative lives.
Carriers has been around for the last 12 years, but Kiser’s music story stretches back much further. At 36, he still remembers what his guidance counselor asked him in high school: Are you going to take your SAT?
Kiser said no. He was going to travel and play music. And that’s what he did — and continues to do, all while still living in Cincinnati and not forgetting where he came from.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.springfieldnewssun.com ’
