NXNE primer: The 5 most stylish bands hitting Toronto this week

Dum Dum Girls
Dum Dum Girls. Photography by Tyson Wirtzfield.
Dum Dum Girls
Dum Dum Girls. Photography by Tyson Wirtzfield.

Toronto’s North by Northeast music and film festival lineup can seem unappealing versus its buzzier Austin-based cousin, South by Southwest, but the indie music fest gets bigger, louder, and more fashionable each year. Take style cues from these five ultra-styling must-see bands:

Dum Dum Girls
Though they play rah-rah garage rock, Dum Dum Girls are less dusty, girls-next-door, more enviably editorialized—expect red lips and lots of black.
Lee’s Palace, June 17, 11 P.M.

Diamond Rings
Diamond Rings

Diamond Rings
Toronto’s glam pop darling, the lanky-gorgeous Diamond Rings is known as much for his painterly stage make-up as his stark Ian Curtis-esque vocals.
Yonge-Dundas Square, June 17, 7:30 P.M.
Wrongbar, June 18, 12 A.M.

Grimes
Like Wednesday Addams meets ’90s Robyn, Montreal’s Grimes—who spent May touring with Lykke Li—pieces aural ephemera into sepulchral, pop-tinged pieces of art school confidential.
The Great Hall, June 18 at 1 A.M.
918 Bathurst, June 18, 11 P.M.

Twin Shadow
Once named one of New York City’s most fashionable by Manhattan digest Time Out, Twin Shadow’s past has come to life: a Greaser pompadour and vintage boots offset his emotional, electronic dreamscapes.
Lee’s Palace, June 18, 12 A.M.

Reema Major
Fifteen-year-old kid rapper Reema Major is Toronto’s Nicki Minaj incarnate (with a wardrobe to match): theatrical, forceful, and just as technically lyrical.
Yonge-Dundas Square, June 19, 5 P.M.

For more information, including the full lineup, visit nxne.com.

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