To see and hear Kingston, Ontario indie rock outfit Tiny Horse—led by guitarists and vocalists Ciara Roberts and Rae Corcoran—is to step into a place of possibility and freedom. Their performances are equal parts small-town queer cabaret, ‘70s folk-rock rapture, and Bowie extravaganza. Their music crackles with John Prine’s rich storytelling and winking humor, Patti Smith’s punkish abandon and revelry, Haim and Taylor Swift’s melodic brilliance. Tiny Horse may be the only—and the last—of their kind. Along with keyboardist Julia Beattie and drummer Harvey Dolphin, Roberts and Corcoran, who formed the band in 2020, have taken Tiny Horse from a beloved, underground acoustic duo into Kingston’s most exciting and fiercely-original band. Along with celebrated appearances at Guelph’s renowned Hillside Festival and Mackinnon Brothers’ Back To The Farm, Tiny Horse have spent the last few years converting some of Ontario’s best music rooms into places of celebration and pure entertainment. (After seeing the band live, Elamin Abdelmahmoud, the host of CBC’s Commotion, declared that Tiny Horse are “gonna be the next ones outta Kingston.”) Roberts’ electric charisma and wit gallop hand-in-hand with Corcoran’s gravity and poise, their voices giving way to one another at perfect moments, then meeting at once in Simon-and-Garfunkel-meets-Thelma-and-Louise harmony. Their songs are indie rock anthems as much a they are radio-ready pop hit. It’s Seger meets Swift at the small-town bar.