Palomosa Recap: The Dare, underscores, Yung Lean, and More

Palomosa took over Montreal’s Jean-Drapeau Island last weekend. The inaugural edition of the festival had attendees dancing from dusk to dawn, beginning with a block party on Thursday and concluding late Saturday night with an after-party from New York’s The Dare.

Also Cool’s highlights from Friday night include a standout performance by Understores, cementing our obsession with the California-born musician. Snow Strippers brought their usual high energy performance that had GTA 5 vibes in the best way possible. Yung Lean’s performance was a life-changing experience for the Tumblr kids and the 14-year-olds in the mosh pit alike. He played all his hits, including his latest collab with Charli XCX, and classics like "Smirnoff Ice." He closed his set with "Agony," which had the crowd tearing up.

Later that night, at the SAT after-party, Pep Rally and Surf Gang hosted a split-level event that saw a steady flow of people hitting the dancefloor throughout the night.

Saturday kicked-off with a fun set by The Dare, followed by a classic rockstar show from Yves Tumor. Despite heavy rain, LSDXOXO had the crowd shaking ass, warming everyone up for the BadBadNotGood set, which was paired with beautiful live visuals. Jai Paul’s finale was nothing short of incredible. Many in the crowd noted that this may have been a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience his set live.

With a line wrapping around the block, the SAT after-party, hosted by The Dare and Discoño, was completely sold out. The indie sleaze-clad crowd was fully in sync outfit and energy-wise. The Frost Children delivered a killer DJ set, followed fellow Dimes Square celeb The Dare, who had the walls sweating with banger after banger

Overall, Palomosa was sickening, showcasing some of the best lineup curation we've seen in years. It's a breath of fresh air for both the Montreal and international music scenes, with a perfect balance of international acts and deserving local talent. 

Malaika Astorga is the Co-Founder & Creative Director of Also Cool. She is a Mexican-Canadian visual artist, writer, and social media strategist currently based in Montreal.

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Also Cool's Palomosa Top Picks (Yung Lean, Jai Paul, Snow Strippers, and More)

The Montreal team behind Igloofest and Piknic Électronik, have treated us to what is possibly the best lineup we’ve seen since TIME Festival in 2015. From September 5th to 7th, Parc Jean-Drapeau will host the first ever-edition of Palomosa, where every act could be their own festival headliner. Oh and not to mention, there’s a block party on September 5th at the SAT, and an iconic after party on September 6th and 7th. 

It’s overwhelming in the best way possible, so we decided to break it down for you with Also Cool’s top Palomosa picks. Listen to our playlist at the same time to get a taste of what’s to come

Friday September 6th - Top Picks

Yung Lean - Iconic Swedish rapper who defined the 2010s vaporwave Tumblr era, perfect to listen to with some Arizona iced tea and your cloud rap fanatic friends.

Yaeji - Making it rain(gurl) since 2017 with her dance floor-ready tracks, Yaeji is an artist, producer, vocalist, and musician born in NYC and raised in Seoul.

Snowstrippers - Did someone say indie sleaze revival? Crystal Castles fans rejoice, this Detroit duo’s electro sound is straight out of the 2010s.

horsegiirL - The world is her barn and we’re just living in it. Horsegiirl gained mainstream popularity after her hit single “My Barn My Rules” went viral, cementing her icon status as number one horse pop star.

Also Cool’s Afterparty of choice:

Saturday September 7th - Top Picks

Jai Paul - The mysterious British songwriter and record producer from the UK is finally playing live shows, years after his demo “BTSTU” made waves across the music industry in the 2010s.

Yves Tumor - A true rockstar, Yves Tumor shifts, alters, and plays with the boundaries of contemporary art and culture. Always a treat to see live, you can count on an electrifying performance.

BADBADNOTGOOD - As previously mentioned, the Also Cools who are writing this article saw BBNG at Times festival in high school, and proudly learned to mosh during the contemporary jazz group’s many performances in Ottawa and Toronto in the mid 2010s.

SHYGIRL - British star has a club all to her own this year, with LSDXOXO, Nick Léon, and Angelita joining her for Club Shy.

LSDXOXO - We saw LSDXOXO perform at the most recent Montreal Boiler Room and it was very demure, very mindful, but most of all one of the hardest sets we’ve heard in a long time.

Also Cool’s Afterparty of choice:

Get your tickets for Montreal’s best end-of-summer party, Palomosa, here. 

Malaika Astorga is the Co-Founder & Creative Director of Also Cool. She is a Mexican-Canadian visual artist, writer, and social media strategist currently based in Montreal.

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