Brandon Ripco
Brandon Ripco builds music-driven content and promotions that tie Indie88’s on-air programming to artist interviews, album premieres and live events. He works in content leadership and programming at Indie88, serving as content director and assistant program director while overseeing the station’s digital output. His coverage centres on alternative and rock-oriented music, focusing on new releases, tours, festivals and station-branded specials.
Artist interviews and studio sessions
Ripco regularly produces Indie88 Interviews features that frame on-air conversations with artists and guests around new records, tours and creative milestones.
Recent music-focused segments highlight acts such as Young The Giant, Jenn Grant, Charlotte Cornfield, Charlotte Cardin, Aysanabee, Boy Golden, The Smashing Pumpkins, John Muirhead, Sienna Spiro, Larkk and The Barr Brothers. He also packages conversations tied to broader cultural events, including the Artist Project art fair, the Toronto Port Authority’s Doors Open program and the Great Outdoors Comedy Festival.
In these pieces Ripco writes the framing copy that introduces the segment, sets up what the host will cover and connects the interview to a specific release or performance. The articles typically credit hosts such as Adam, Lana and Bob, underline the angle of the discussion and point audiences to when and how they can listen or watch.
The format is concise and functional, turning broadcast interviews into digital assets while keeping the focus on the artist story and the station’s role in championing their work.
Album premieres and first listens
Ripco is the writer behind Indie88’s Your First Listen album premiere campaigns, including specials for Arkells’ album Between Us and Metric’s Romanticize The Dive. These features outline the concept of the premiere, introduce the band members participating in the broadcast and explain how listeners can tune in to hear the album in full at specific dates and times. The copy foregrounds the station’s relationship with the artists, emphasizing advance access to the music and the opportunity to hear commentary from band members as the record plays.
Across these premieres, Ripco’s language stays tightly focused on the essentials: the album name, the scheduling details, the hosts involved and the ways to listen live or on repeat.
The tone is promotional without being decorative, positioning Indie88 as a home for contemporary alternative and rock albums and giving artists a clear branded slot for their releases. This strand of his work shows a consistent interest in creating appointment listening moments around full-album experiences rather than isolated singles.
Live events, contests and festival coverage
A substantial share of Ripco’s writing promotes live shows, festivals and station contests, with headlines that welcome tours and events to major venues or offer ticket giveaways. Recent examples include Indie88 welcomes Charli XCX: Music, Fashion, Film Tour to Scotiabank Arena, Indie88 welcomes Of Monsters and Men – The Mouse Parade Tour to RBC Amphitheatre and Indie88 welcomes All Things Go Music Festival 2026 to the RBC Amphitheatre.
He has also overseen copy for campaigns such as Indie88’s Arkells Winning Weekend and The Tragically Hip – 10 Years Later Special, along with ticket promotions like Win Tickets to Santana & The Doobie Brothers.
These articles typically highlight the artist or event name, specify venue and dates, note the station’s role as presenter or supporter and direct audiences to listen, watch or enter for a chance to attend. Ripco uses them to tie Indie88’s brand to a calendar of alternative and rock events, from festivals and arena shows to specials and commemorative programming.
The recurring focus on live music and entertainment reinforces his alignment with artists, promoters and campaigns working in those genres.
Station brand, programming and digital strategy
Beyond individual pieces, Ripco’s responsibilities extend into shaping Indie88’s broader content strategy and programming. He holds a senior content and programming role, functioning as content director and assistant program director while managing how music-focused features and station initiatives appear across web, social and on-air. Professional profiles associate his work with alternative rock, rock, alternative music, general entertainment and calendar-based coverage.
External commentary highlights how much time he spends documenting performances and capturing photography from the pit at shows, underscoring his close engagement with the live music scene alongside his desk-based content work.
Across interviews, premieres, contests and event announcements, Ripco’s through-line is consistent: he builds clear, compact packages that connect Indie88’s audience to artists, albums and experiences in the alternative and rock space. His writing serves the station’s programming first, but it does so by giving artists defined moments and formats in which their stories, records and live dates can be heard and seen.
That combination of programming responsibility and hands-on music coverage distinguishes him from a general assignment reporter working the same beat.
4 more music journalists.
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Alex Robert Ross
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Alexis Mikulski Ruiz
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