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Born in the (late) 80s, the famous power ballades of the era were songs my dad would occasionally play in the car during long drives. And to be honest, it mostly led to me putting in my ipod to listen my Britney. It wasn’t till GLEE re-did the songs that my curiosity was officially peaked, [...]

Spoon played Jan 20 to an enthusiastic audience in Montreal who loved them, and will be coming to Ottawa’s National Arts Centre January 26, followed by a concert tour that includes Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver, London & New York.

For his sophomore album Free Dimensional, pop singer Diamond Rings decided to record using only his own voice, but the ambitious blonde’s queer influences are manifold. We enjoyed a backstage chat about stardom, mentors, and existing between two poles in advance of his show this Thursday, Dec. 6, at the Sala Rossa.

One-woman electro act and queer vocalist Hua Li (aka Peggy Hogan) juggles identities, desires, and musical styles to make complex songs that hover somewhere between bedroom-art and hip-hop. She’ll perform at the inaugural edition of TROUBLE – QUEER GENESIS, the new “it-benefit” with Mikiki at Espace ReUnion, this Sat. Nov 3.

Short-listed as an opening act for Madonna, and now touring with Die Antwoord, Azari & III has reason to be cocky. This Saturday, Nov 3, is the first time the Toronto dance-pop foursome will be in Montréal for a full-on live show, at Metropolis for the one-night Sonar Festival. We chatted with the cocky team of hotties about +/- Grace Jones, touring, and how they’re not voguers, thank you very much.

Hamed Sinno is the lead singer of Beirut indie rock sensation Mashrou3 Leila, who will take over the stage of Le National this Thurs. Oct 25 after two weeks of recording their new album at Montréal’s Hotel 2 Tango studio. The 24 year-old heartthrob spoke to 2B about music, politics, and not having a Frank Ocean moment.

A gay hip-hop Youtube sensation from NYC, the globe-trotting Dragonette, and the legendary (perhaps TOO legendary) Barbra Streisand take to stages of all sizes this month in Montréal…

It’s been 13 years since the post-Riot Grrrl American trio, Gossip, released their first album. Well, they’re still going strong with now a fifth album under their belt and a poppier sound than ever. You can catch the iconic queer band on September 30 at l’Olympia (1004 Ste-Catherine E.) in Montréal to see how far the electrifying singer, Beth Ditto, has come from her rural, poor and religious Arkansas background.

“Growl is just that moment when an animal’s lips starts to cringe, the moment before they actually emit a sound,” Ira Lee tells me about his forthcoming self-released album GROWL. This bi-continental, bisexual musician and spoken word artist’s 15th album features tracks with local super-homo SOCALLED. Tonight (Sept. 21) @ The Royal Phoenix.

Canadian singer, musician, DJ, director, performance artist, and all-around cultural icon Peaches will be in Montréal for the first time in three years for a DJ set this Thursday, Sept 20, at Église Pop (5035 St-Dominique, 11pm). Shawn Thompson spoke to her about queerness, Berlin, her new movie, Pussy Riot, and why people need to figure themselves out!