Ryan and Pony Live at The High Hat

ome see Ryan and Pony bring their 2020 debut album Moshi Moshi to life front to back in a rare performance as a full-on rock power trio, featuring Peter Anderson (The Ocean Blue, Run Westy Run) on drums—he played on the album! Expect the singles you love, plus some fun bonus covers.
Opening Set: Ryan performs Made in MN Part 2—a continuation of playing the very best music to ever come out of this state.
Grab tickets ow before it sells out!

Rock, weirdness, and Minnesota pride all in one night. Don’t miss it.

Ryan and Pony is the project of two longtime Minneapolis indie rockers whose creative chemistry has shaped some of the Twin Cities’ most dynamic music. Their debut album Moshi Moshi (Pravda Records, 2020) was recorded at a variety of Minneapolis studios including Flight Simulator, Flowers, Master Mix, and The K*ll Room, with Ryan producing. John Fields mixed and Greg Reierson mastered the album. Released on clear blue vinyl, CD, and digital formats, Moshi Moshifuses dream-pop, post-punk, Brit-rock, EDM, and good old-fashioned rock ’n’ roll into a sound all their own—irony, weirdness, and melody at its core. The record also features Peter Anderson (The Ocean Blue, Run Westy Run, The Honeydogs) on drums.

Ryan is a workaholic multi-instrumentalist who has played lead guitar in Soul Asylum since 2016. Pony (aka Kathie Hixon-Smith) is a flamboyant performer and artist raised by deaf parents. Together, they fronted The Melismatics, releasing seven studio albums and numerous singles, touring internationally, and playing festivals like Lollapalooza. Their songs have been featured in TV shows, and the band shared stages with MGMT, The Von Bondies, Joan Jett, Plain White T’s, Shiny Toy Guns, The Jayhawks, and Soul Asylum.

Ryan and Pony’s single Start Making Sense was awarded First Place in the Rock category of the 2021 USA Songwriting Competition, underscoring their gift for fusing sharp songwriting with inventive production.

Ryan and Pony first met while touring the U.S. in a minivan as part of indie rocker Mark Mallman’s backing band. Soon after, their own projects—Ryan’s newly formed Melismatics and Pony’s band Hundred Flowers—were both making waves in Minneapolis. Their paths converged when Pony joined The Melismatics as co-frontperson, and the pair’s collaboration has continued to evolve ever since.

When The Melismatics slowed their touring schedule after 2013’s Rising Tide, Ryan and Pony began shaping what would become their new project. The first track to emerge was “First Night,” a song about rebirth that hinted at what was to come. After years of building material between Soul Asylum tours—Ryan played on the band’s 2020 album Hurry Up and Wait, which became their third highest-charting release—the duo brought their new vision to life with Moshi Moshi.

Now, Ryan and Pony continue to push their sound forward, blending energy, experimentation, and fearless hooks into music that feels at once familiar and wholly their own.

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