Charlottetown: New (fashion) Royalty
It might come as a surprise to some that Charlottetown has a killer local music scene. The Danks, Smothered in Hugs, The Robots and Two Hours Traffic (whose music has been featured on The O.C., and who were recently nominated for a couple of Verge music awards) are just a few of the local bands that are beginning to make serious waves on a national scale.
However, despite the growing prominence of Island rock music, the all ages crowd continues to be constantly overlooked. New Royalty is one of these often ignored bands, but with a fashion sense that matches their musical skills, this will probably change.
The group consists of Tristan Gray (drums), Ben Schulman (guitar), Chris Francis (bass), Morgan O’Leary (keys) and Lily Forsythe (vocals). New Royalty have been around less than two years, but have already released an EP entitled Sleepover!, received a grant from non-profit group Music PEI and created a sound that’s somewhat reminiscent of The New Pornographers and Los Campesinos!.
On top of that, the band is super fashionable. Lily and Morgan rock out in the tiniest of dresses with the toughest of boots, while Chris and Ben have a tendency towards sweater vests and nerd glasses. Drummer Tristan Gray wins the band’s most unique dresser award—with his hodgepodge of bright colors and acid wash jeans, he looks like something straight out of the online pages of Hel Looks.
Check out New Royalty at myspace.com/newroyaltypei or catch them live on the Confederation Centre of the Arts Mainstage on Saturday, January 17 for the PEI Music Awards.
Photography by Sam Stewart
