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about the band
Public Transit’s new EP, Willow Tree, out November 7th, is a collection of exploratory folk tunes that was largely written and recorded in a bedroom. At times, its abstract lyrical reflections and sonic obscurity hold the listener at arm's length. At others, it is accessible and personal — intimate, even. The thread that ties the songs together is the consistent theme of watching, waiting, and hoping.
Public Transit is an indie folk collective whose core contributors include songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Noah Dirig, vocalist Aimee Dirig (both based out of Wilmore, Kentucky), and violinist Jubilee Chen of Cincinnati, Ohio.
Public Transit emerged in 2022 as a solo project of Noah Dirig. With a few cheap microphones, a budget-model guitar, and a laptop, Dirig began to craft ornate folk tunes in a tiny one-bedroom in Columbus, Ohio. Borrowing some old violin recordings from his friend, Jubilee Chen, he released his first single, Weights Too Heavy, in October 2022.
2023 saw the release of Public Transit's first EP, Still in Regal Glory. A minimalistic collection of Advent tunes, this release was the first to prominently feature Dirig's wife, Aimee, as a full-fledged member of the group.
2025's Hover demonstrated an artistic leap forward for the group. Teaming up again with Chen, the track represented a clashing of Chen's classical training and Dirig's alt rock background. The song, filtered through the strictures of these seemingly opposing schools of thought, became something quite unlike anything else in their respective discographies.
After the release of Hover, Dirig asked Chen to be more involved with the Public Transit project. Reforming from a mostly-solo effort to a collective, Public Transit has entered a new era which is demarcated by the release of their new EP, Willow Tree, and its associated live shows.
