For Minnesota Music Month, The Current polled the local music industry for April’s edition of The Scouting Report. A total of 112 people filled out this year’s Minnesota Music Month Scouting Report ballot, and 489 unique artists were chosen overall. The top 10 artists who received the most support include Ghosting Merit.

Minneapolis indie pop act Ghosting Merit originally came together down in New Orleans. In 2021, lead vocalist and guitarist Syd Casey moved from Minnesota to Louisiana with Bailey Cogan of 26 Bats!, who now plays keytar and contributes backing vocals in the project. There, Casey began writing the songs that arrived on the group’s 2023 EP, Kid Sibling.

A tumultuous relationship and living situation eventually took hold in the South, so Casey and Cogan returned to the Midwest in 2024. A document of the New Orleans years remains as Little Rituals, a seven-song release that arrived this past September. Casey says they imagine this openly vulnerable work functioning like the time between sunset and the next day’s sunrise. Over about 17 minutes, the songs reach energetic peaks and drop into melancholic valleys. 

During a recent interview, Casey is engaging without being over the top, but they are not afraid to put their emotions on display. Similarly, their lyrics are deceptively simple, yet deeply impactful. 

Little Rituals plays with tempo, effects, and different instrumental combinations to show different scenes and characters. The danceable synth jam “Dementor,” credited to both Ghosting Merit and 26 Bats!, features playful arpeggiation on vocals, the sounds of crickets, and plucky blasts from the keytar. Near the end of the soulful “Starfall” Casey’s voice is heavily processed, resembling one of their biggest influences, Fever Ray.

Elsewhere, guitar plays a larger role in centering introspection. “Hannah” and “Friend of Envy” are adrift on a sea of emotive boygenius-style indie pop. The slow, heartwrenching “Blu Crow” feels like longing, and to Casey, signifies the end of the night. With spare acoustic guitar, closer “Grace” begins a new day as Casey sings, “I’m holding on to all of my pain, gotta move on, give yourself grace. Hiding from all of my shame, gotta be strong, face the mistakes.” 

In present form, Ghosting Merit has expanded from Casey and Cogan’s two-piece into a dynamic four-person live act that includes Emma Garau on drums and Nathan Johnston on bass. As an openly queer and trans band, these parts of their existence weave into their music organically. Casey feels the songs they write have a silver lining and notes the importance of sharing queer hope and creating representation for those in the crowd with similar experiences. 

“It allows the audience to participate in live music, which really is a collective experience anyway,” Casey says. “If you're fearless, it encourages the audience to be as well, which opens up an incredible exchange of energy.” Casey also emphasizes the abundance of queer joy that can be found in the local music scene, citing an impactful DIY Pride festival held in an intimate courtyard space.

“My community here continues to expand and deepen,” says Casey. “I'm particularly inspired by the many talented trans musicians here in Minneapolis. They encourage me to be more bold and joyful, and less apologetic. Seeing the way Anita Velveeta commands a stage and possesses the crowd has literally brought me to tears. People like her inspire me to stand in my power and be loud!”

While Ghosting Merit doesn’t have any events on the books until June, they are currently working on creating a follow-up to Little Rituals. “We have a bunch of new songs that we're going to start recording this spring,” says Casey. “This will be our first record with the full band on it, and I'm super excited about that. Emma and Nathan add so much to our sound. I'm looking forward to capturing that and sharing it.”

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