Public Universal Friend

Public Universal Friend (PUF) is an Indianapolis-based art rock band fronted by singer-songwriter Jody Galadriel Friend. After a decade-plus solo career, Friend released her album Perennials debuting under PUF in March 2021 just a month after coming out publicly as a trans woman. Since the release of this touchstone coming out record, Friend galvanized her place as a beloved matriarch in the Indianapolis queer music scene with her live band including up to seven members, with featured performances on their local NPR station, Emmy-award winning series Music in Transit, while also becoming the first trans-led act to have been featured on Mahogany Sessions based out of London.

Public Universal Friend’s 2021 record Perennials signifies Friend’s progression of an earthy brand of indie rock songwriting, whose sonic roots cite post-punk and 90s emo with echoes of Appalachian roots and spiritual music. Friend’s lyrical themes have historically gravitated toward the value of emotive honesty and speaking truth in power, embodied through a profoundly unique perspective of identity, faith, and gender expansive existence. These poetic incantations foster an inclusive live environment of authentic engagement, all for the sake of exploring the overarching theme of finding out who we really are and the beauty of living within it. PUF is slated to release their new record Chrysalis in 2022.