PALOMOSA 2026: THE UNDERGROUND KIDS ARE ALRIGHT

If you've been on the internet in the past year, you've probably seen the discourse: party culture is dead. TikTok think pieces. Substack essays. Magazine articles. Everyone seems to have an opinion about why the dance floor isn't what it used to be. Even Charli xcx, the patron saint of modern party girls, has declared "the dancefloor is dead" and questioned whether the culture still exists. And honestly? For a minute, I started to believe it.

Maybe it's because I'm on my own sober-curious journey these days. Maybe it's because I'm trying to be more intentional about where I spend my time and energy. Or maybe it's because I already had my club rat era in the late 2010s. I was young, broke, reckless, and somehow always found a way into the party with exactly $12 in my bank account and a dream.

Sometimes it feels like I was part of the last generation to experience mainstream party culture before everything changed. But after spending three days at Palomosa, I realized something:

The party isn't dead, it's just moved underground!

WRITTEN BY ROCHELLE ALLEN 

Photographer: Rochelle Allen

The traditional nightlife ecosystem might be struggling, but underground culture is more alive than ever. The kids are still creating. They're still dressing up. They're still finding each other. They're still building communities around music, fashion, and shared experiences. The difference is that they're doing it under completely different circumstances.

In 2026, young people have access to more worlds than ever through their phones, but fewer spaces to exist in real life. Third spaces are disappearing. Rent is unaffordable. Most cultural experiences are increasingly commercialized and priced beyond reach.

So where do young people go when they can't afford to participate? The answer is usually online. If they can't attend the event, they watch it through someone else's Instagram story. They catch it on TikTok Live. They experience the party through a screen instead of through their own memories. And honestly, who can blame them?

Even music festivals, which used to be one of the most affordable ways to see multiple artists in one place, have become inaccessible for a lot of people. More and more, these events feel designed for content creation instead of community. But culture has never been created by the people with the biggest budgets.

It's always been the DIY kids.

The weird kids.

The kids are making something out of nothing.

It's the lack of resources that forces creativity. It's the experimental spaces. The homemade outfits. The underground venues. The people willing to create culture before anyone else understands it. That's where the magic happens, and that's exactly why Palomosa feels important.

Now in its fourth edition, Palomosa has quietly become one of Montreal's most exciting festivals by doing something surprisingly simple: believing in emerging artists before everyone else does. I've attended Palomosa since the beginning, and this year felt different.

Maybe it's because the local representation on the lineup felt stronger than ever. Maybe it's because so many artists I've watched grow over the years are finally getting their moment. Or maybe it's because seeing underground talent share a lineup with artists like MGMT reminded me why these spaces matter in the first place.

Palomosa understands something that a lot of festivals have forgotten: People don't just come for the headliners; they come for discovery! What makes Palomosa special isn't just the lineup; it's the people the lineup attracts. Over the weekend, the festival grounds felt like a collision of Montreal's underground subcultures. Fashion kids. Ravers. DIY artists. Indie music nerds. Experimental electronic fans. People who probably would never exist in the same room together under normal circumstances. And somehow it all worked because that's what good festivals do, they create temporary worlds for us to escape into!

Photographer: Rochelle Allen

For three days, Palomosa became a place where everyone belonged as long as they were there for the music. At a time when so many events feel designed around maximizing profit, Palomosa still feels designed around community. Being able to attend a three-day festival for under $100 in North America is almost unheard of. It genuinely feels like a festival built with its audience in mind rather than shareholders.

The lineup itself reflected that philosophy; one stage could take you from indie rock to electronic music to hyperpop to experimental sounds within a few hours, and somehow none of it felt out of place. There was something for everyone, yet it still felt niche. It still felt curated. It still felt connected to the underground. And maybe that's why the "party culture is dead" narrative misses the point entirely...

The underground was never supposed to be mainstream.

It's supposed to evolve.

It's supposed to change.

It's supposed to create new worlds.

The underground kids are alright. They're still making art, they're still dressing up, they're still finding each other! After spending a weekend at Palomosa, it's clear they're still dancing too.

BARCODE returned for our second year covering the festival, and what follows is our recap of the fashion, performances, and after-hours moments that made Palomosa 2026 unforgettable! 

Fashion Spotlight

Photographer: Rochelle Allen

Before the first note was played, Palomosa's crowd was already putting on a show.

What stood out most wasn't a single trend, but the complete absence of one. Across the festival grounds, attendees arrived in outfits that felt deeply personal rather than algorithmically curated. DIY ravewear sat beside thrifted Y2K pieces. Corsets, fishnets, lace, kandi bracelets, furry boots, scene haircuts, cyber-goth accessories, and handmade details all collided into a visual landscape that felt uniquely Montreal.

In an era where social media often encourages everyone to dress the same, Palomosa's fashion felt refreshingly individual. Many festivalgoers spoke about thrifting, customizing garments, and building outfits from pieces collected over time rather than buying into fast-moving trends. The result was a crowd that reflected the same spirit as the music itself: experimental, playful, and unapologetically creative.

If Palomosa proved anything this year, it's that underground fashion isn't dead. It's evolving through the people willing to create their own worlds rather than follow someone else's.

MUSIC Spotlight

ear

Photographer: Rochelle Allen

One of my favourite discoveries of the weekend came from Ear, an artist I was introduced to by my assistant before the festival. Going into the set, I wasn't entirely sure what to expect, but by the end, I found myself completely locked in.

Armed with little more than an Apple MacBook, atmospheric lighting, and an unmistakable stage presence, Ear proved that you don't need an elaborate production to capture a crowd. Their performance blended live vocals with electronic textures that felt both intimate and expansive, creating a hypnotic atmosphere across the festival grounds.

What stood out most was their movement. Between dramatic hair flips and expressive body language, the performance carried an energy that felt reminiscent of the early 2010s indie-electronic era while still feeling completely fresh. It was theatrical without feeling forced, nostalgic without relying on nostalgia.

In a lineup filled with artists demanding your attention, Ear quietly earned it. The set felt like one of those rare festival moments where you stumble upon an artist you've never fully explored before and leave wondering why it took you so long to discover them.

Cannelle

Photographer: Rochelle Allen

Cannelle brought the party, taking over the festival during the afternoon as the sun began to dip toward golden hour. Cannelle delivered one of the most infectious sets of the entire weekend. From the moment she stepped on stage, the energy felt magnetic. People were dancing, singing, jumping, and squeezing closer together with friends as the crowd continued to grow throughout the set. It seemed like every cool kid at the festival had somehow found their way to the same dancefloor.

As a first-time listener, I wasn't expecting to leave calling it one of my favourite performances of the weekend, but that's exactly what happened. The music felt effortless, playful, and impossible to stand still. Every track seemed to pull more people in, transforming the crowd into one giant moving organism.

What made the performance so memorable wasn't just the music, but Cannelle's connection with the audience. Throughout the set, she continuously hyped up the crowd, creating a sense of community that felt more like a party than a performance. By the end, she climbed down from the elevated platform she had spent the set dancing on, hanging off the edge to say goodbye in French while taking in the crowd one last time. The reaction was immediate. The audience erupted.

For a festival built around community and discovery, Cannelle felt like the perfect embodiment of both. The dancefloor became the main character, and for an hour or two, it genuinely felt like summer had finally arrived.

DJ Smokey 

Photographer: Rochelle Allen

In a lineup packed with international talent, one of the most satisfying moments of the weekend came from watching DJ Smokey remind everyone just how strong Montreal's underground scene really is.

As someone who discovered his work through Binxxx and the Diet Rave Star community, seeing him perform at Palomosa felt like a full-circle moment. DJ Smokey has spent years building a cult following through his unique sound and internet mythology, recently earning even wider recognition with a Grammy nomination for his production work alongside Skrillex. Yet despite the growing attention, his set still felt deeply connected to the underground community that helped build him.

By the time he took the stage, the crowd was already filling in with a familiar mix of hardcore ravers, underground music fans, and local faces from across Montreal's nightlife scene. Looking around, it became impossible not to recognize how many people had specifically shown up to support him. What initially felt like a niche booking quickly revealed itself as one of the weekend's most dedicated audiences.

The energy in the pit reflected that loyalty. People weren't just casually watching the performance; they were fully invested in it. Dancing, moshing, smoking, and completely losing themselves in the music, the crowd felt less like festival attendees and more like a community gathering around one of their own.

For me, DJ Smokey's set embodied what Palomosa does best. It creates space for artists who emerge from underground culture to stand alongside major international acts without sacrificing what made them special in the first place. This is exactly the kind of artist festivals should continue to support.

Thaiboy Digital

Photographer: Rochelle Allen

One of the biggest surprises of the weekend came from Thaiboy Digital's closing set on Day 3. While I was familiar with him through Drain Gang, I went into the performance fairly casually and left with an entirely new appreciation for his music.

Stepping in as a replacement for the festival's original headliner, Thaiboy had big shoes to fill, but judging by the crowd, nobody seemed disappointed. The festival grounds were packed with Drain Gang fans, mosh pits erupted throughout the set, and the energy never seemed to drop. Yet despite the chaos, there was something surprisingly joyful about the atmosphere. It felt less like aggressive moshing and more like a collective release, with thousands of people completely immersed in the moment.

One of my favourite memories from the entire weekend happened during this set. Standing in the media pit with my assistant, both of us jumping up and down and completely losing ourselves in the music, I looked around and realized everyone else was doing the same thing. Between songs, Thaiboy would pause to take in the crowd, smiling as he looked out across the sea of fans singing every word back to him.

More than anything, the performance felt like a reflection of how music culture has changed. Artists who once existed primarily within niche internet communities are now headlining major festival stages and bringing those online subcultures into the real world. Watching thousands of people gather around an artist who built his following through internet culture felt like proof that the underground isn't disappearing, it's simply finding new ways to evolve.

Afterparty

While the festival officially ended on the grounds of Parc Jean-Drapeau, for many attendees, the night was far from over. Palomosa's Day 3 afterparty brought the celebration to Montréal's iconic Society for Arts and Technology [SAT], where two of the city's most influential nightlife collectives, Cheap Thrills and Hauterageous, took over the venue's immersive spaces for a late-night gathering of artists, DJs, ravers, and music lovers. With performances from acts including Cannelle, Marie Davidson, Umru, Monib B2B Siren Mars, and more, the afterparty felt like a natural extension of the festival itself.

Photographer: Rochelle Allen

What stood out most was the sense of community. Many of the faces seen dancing in the crowd had spent the entire weekend together, moving between stages, discovering new artists, and reconnecting with friends. By the time the afterparty began, it felt less like a separate event and more like the final chapter of the weekend.

For a festival rooted in discovery and underground culture, ending the weekend with collectives like Cheap Thrills and Hauterageous felt fitting. Long after the main stages shut down, Montréal's nightlife community was still doing what it does best: creating spaces for connection, creativity, and collective release.

Photographer: Rochelle Allen

The dancefloor isn't dead, we've just been looking in the wrong places!

If there's one thing Palomosa proved this year, it's that underground culture isn't disappearing, it's evolving! Across three days, we met DIY designers transforming thrifted clothing into wearable art, discovered artists pushing electronic music in unexpected directions, watched internet-born musicians command festival stages, and witnessed local underground communities show up in full force to support their own. Whether it was on the dancefloor during Cannelle's set, in the crowd for Thaiboy Digital, or deep into the night at the afterparty, the same feeling kept resurfacing: people are still searching for connection.

In an era where so much culture exists through screens and algorithms, festivals like Palomosa remind us that some experiences can only happen in real life. The outfits, the conversations, the shared moments between strangers, and the collective release of thousands of people moving to the same beat can't be replicated online.

While mainstream nightlife continues to struggle, a new generation is building something different. They're organizing warehouse parties, supporting emerging artists, customizing thrifted clothing, and creating communities that exist both online and off. The underground was never meant to stay the same. Its job is to evolve.

The future of underground culture isn't something to worry about; it's already happening. The next generation isn't waiting to inherit culture, they're already creating it!