About

About Ian Kimmel

Ian Kimmel of Dublin, Ohio, is a touring and studio musician who has enjoyed an eclectic fan base nationwide for nearly twenty years. As a child, his parents discovered his musical prowess after he received a guitar as a Christmas present and quickly began to strum harmonious patterns. This experience began his lifelong love for playing various musical instruments, including the guitar, piano, and percussion. 

As a young man growing up in Dublin,Ohio and around Columbus, he enjoyed listening to lesser-known artists with exceptional talent. Many of his favorites, such as drummer Hal Blaine, guitarist Tommy Tedesco, and famed keyboardist and guitarist Leon Russell, were talented session musicians who played backup for some of the country’s top-billing performers. 

Today, Ian uses his deep musical proficiency by playing keyboards in contemporary folk and pop bands that tour Midwest and Northeast nightspots in major cities such as New York, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Chicago, and Kansas City. He especially enjoys playing backup for talented vocalists in intimate settings, where he feels the energy and connection between the audience and the music. 

Musical Education

At the tender age of nine, Ian embarked on his musical education journey with private piano lessons at a local music shop in Ohio. His instructor instilled in him not only a solid foundation in formal music theory but also a deep appreciation for musicality. Musicality is the unique touch musicians bring to a piece, enhancing its beauty, tone, or even structure, which became a cornerstone of Ian’s musical skills. 

Once he entered high school, he played keyboards with the after-school jazz ensemble and became a tenor drummer on his school’s marching band. Ian’s natural proficiency with musical instruments gave him a great sense of belonging and social confidence. He has always been drawn to the lifestyle of a musician, which swings on a pendulum from isolated and quiet hours in practice to the stimulating and intoxicating occasion of live performance. 

Ian Kimmel attended Ohio University School of Music, where he completed his BA in Music and a minor in music performance. Here, Ian learned classical chamber music skills and experienced the discipline of playing in a large ensemble music performance. 

Musical Style

Ian’s style of music combines various popular genres, including rock, adult contemporary, and electronic. He specializes in complex rhythms and dissonant sounds, bringing an edgy and urban beat to a wide range of audiences. He enjoys breaking from traditional norms in music and uses keyboard technology to rearrange the structure, texture, or rhythm during his performances.

In Ohio, he often played for free at many venues around Columbus, Ohio, to discover how audiences reacted to his eclectic playing style. What is most important to Ian is how to apply artistic sensitivity or the language of music to speak to an audience, despite age, race, or music preferences. Today, he is known for his natural spontaneity during musical performances that tend to take audiences by surprise and with delight. 

Career Highlights

For the past two years, Ian has been touring with the Indie pop band Night Flash throughout the Midwest and Southeastern portions of the US. The group plays selections from their personal music collaborations between band members and covers some beloved indie pop bands such as Imagine Dragons, Florence and the Machine, and Vampire Weekend. 

From 2020 to 2022, Ian was a session keyboardist for several bands that turned to the internet to record and sell their own music and perform before captive audiences during the height of the pandemic. During this time, he learned how collaborations can be fruitful, even with artists from other countries. To this day, Ian is still in contact with many musicians he performed with on virtual platforms, with the hope of someday having an in-person jam session. 

In previous years, Ian played piano in small Ohio nightclubs for well-known local singers. He has also enjoyed many years playing in regional music halls and entertainment venues as a touring keyboard backup artist. 

Current Projects

Today, Ian Kimmel performs throughout Ohio and the Midwest as a solo musician and as part of small Pop/Indie bands. His live performances and touring are a significant source of income for Ian, in addition to his online persona, where he has successfully monetized his own written library of music. 

He also enjoys income from streaming royalties paid for his work as a backup session musician. He still makes himself available for studio work and aims to become a music producer where he can highlight the talent of new and upcoming musicians. This career path would give him the opportunity to collaborate on song arrangements, supervise the audio mixing, and choose the best session musicians available for recording purposes.