Artists like Ben Kweller

Benjamin Scott Folds is an American singer-songwriter. After playing in several small independent bands from the late 1980s through the early '90s, Folds came to prominence as the frontman and pianist of the alternative rock trio Ben Folds Five from 1993 to 2000, and again during their reunion from 2011 to 2013. Folds has recorded a number of solo albums, most recently Sleigher (2024). He has also collaborated with musicians such as Regina Spektor, "Weird Al" Yankovic and yMusic, and undertaken experimental songwriting projects with actor William Shatner and authors such as Nick Hornby and Neil Gaiman. Folds was the artistic advisor to the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. from 2017 until 2025.

Guster is an American alternative rock band formed in Somerville, Massachusetts. Founding members Adam Gardner, Ryan Miller, and Brian Rosenworcel began practice sessions while attending Tufts University and formed the band in 1991. The members met during the freshman Wilderness Orientation program in August of that year, playing publicly together as a trio two months later at the Midnight Cafe coffee house in the common area of the Lewis Hall dormitory. While attending Tufts, the band lived at 139 College Avenue in Somerville.

The Format is an American indie rock band, formed by vocalist Nate Ruess and multi-instrumentalist Sam Means. Their style has been considered a mixture of indie, alternative, punk and folk music, with elements of 1960s and 1970s pop music. The Format chose their name to make fun of the music industry's inclination towards a cookie-cutter "format" for a hit single. Formed in 2002, the band released two studio albums before announcing a hiatus on February 4, 2008. On February 4, 2020, they announced a return from their hiatus for a tour of special shows that were later cancelled due to the pandemic. In 2025, the band reunited for a second time and announced their third studio album, Boycott Heaven, which was released on January 23, 2026.

Beulah was an American indie rock band from San Francisco, California, often associated with The Elephant 6 Recording Company. The band would go on to gain ample critical acclaim from many well respected outlets including Rolling Stone and The Guardian.

Waxahatchee is an American indie music project, formed in 2010 by American singer-songwriter Kathryn Crutchfield, known professionally as Katie Crutchfield, following the breakup of her previous band P.S. Eliot. The band is named after Waxahatchee Creek in Alabama, where Crutchfield grew up. Originally an acoustic solo project, her recordings now tend to involve a full backing band.

Peter Joseph Yorn is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He first gained international recognition after his debut record, Musicforthemorningafter, was released to critical and commercial acclaim in 2001. He is known for playing the bulk of the instruments on his records. Spin magazine, in a career retrospective article dated March 26, 2021, recognized Yorn as one of his generation's best songwriters. Yorn’s eleventh album, The Hard Way, was released on August 23, 2024.

Kevin Robert Morby is an American musician, singer, and songwriter. A former member of Woods and the Babies, Morby has released eight solo studio albums: Harlem River (2013), Still Life (2014), Singing Saw (2016), City Music (2017), Oh My God (2019), Sundowner (2020), This Is a Photograph (2022), and Little Wide Open (2026).

The Weakerthans are a Canadian indie rock band from Winnipeg. The band, led by John K. Samson, has released four studio albums and is currently inactive.

The Hold Steady is an American rock band formed in Brooklyn, New York, in 2003. The band consists of Craig Finn, Tad Kubler (guitar), Galen Polivka (bass), Bobby Drake (drums), Franz Nicolay (keyboards) and Steve Selvidge (guitar). Noted for their "lyrically dense storytelling," and classic rock influences, the band's narrative-based songs frequently address themes such as drug addiction, religion and redemption, and often feature recurring characters based within the city of Minneapolis.

Sidney Matthew Sweet is an American alternative rock/power pop singer-songwriter and musician who was part of the burgeoning music scene in Athens, Georgia, during the 1980s before gaining commercial success in the 1990s as a solo artist. His companion albums, Tomorrow Forever and Tomorrow's Daughter, were followed by 2018's Wicked System of Things and 2021's Catspaw, his 15th studio effort.

The New Pornographers are a Canadian indie rock band, formed in 1997 in Vancouver, British Columbia. Presented as a musical collective and supergroup of singer-songwriters and musicians from multiple projects, the band currently consists of Carl Newman, Neko Case (vocals), John Collins (bass), Todd Fancey (guitar), and Kathryn Calder.

Paul Harold Westerberg is an American musician, best known as the lead singer, guitarist, and songwriter for the Replacements. Following the breakup of the Replacements, Westerberg launched a solo career that saw him release three albums on two major record labels.

Craig A. Finn is an American singer, songwriter and musician. He is best known as the frontman of the American indie rock band the Hold Steady, with whom he has recorded nine studio albums. Prior to forming the Hold Steady, Finn was the frontman of Lifter Puller.

Pedro the Lion is an American indie rock band from Seattle, Washington, United States. David Bazan formed the band in 1995 and represented its main creative force, backed by a varying rotation of collaborating musicians. In 2006 Pedro the Lion was dissolved as Bazan went solo and performed under his own name. Bazan reformed the band and resumed performing under the Pedro the Lion moniker in late 2017. Releasing seven full-length albums and five EPs since 1997, the band is known for its first person narrative lyrics.