1 Mac DeMarco
In stark contrast to his sleazy demeanour on stage and in interviews, DeMarco’s music is mellow and mellifluous, fusing classic indie with psychedelia, soft rock lyricism and the synthetic groove of blue-eyed soul. See the Canadian undermine his serious talent with idiotic jokes and nudity at these London shows.
O2 Academy Brixton, SW9, 30-31 May
2 Mykki Blanco
What began as a character for a YouTube video soon transformed into fully fledged music career for performance artist Michael Quattlebaum Jr. With a name inspired by Lil’ Kim’s alter ego Kimmy Blanco, Mykki makes spaced-out but still aggressive rap accompanied by awesomely bizarre visuals.
Brighton, 27 May; Bristol & Birmingham, 28 May
3 Her’s
The spirit of Orange Juice, Josef K and other Postcard Records bands lives on in this Liverpool-based duo, comprising Norwegian Audun Laading and Stephen Fitzpatrick from Barrow. Find luminous guitar lines, tremulous, dissonant vocals and an arsenal of gorgeous indie pop melodies at their upcoming gigs.
Bristol, 30 May; London, 31 May; Bath, 1 June
4 Marika Hackman
She may be Laura Marling’s tour buddy and one-time bandmate of Cara Delevingne, but Hackman is more than the sum of her celebrity associates. The 25-year-old’s indie folk-rock is concerned with unpicking the male-female binary, a theme her second album I’m Not Your Man album looks set to explore further.
Birmingham, 29 May; Glasgow, 30 May; Manchester, 31 May; London, 1-2 June; touring to 8 June
5 Radio 1’s Big Weekend
First headlined in 2003 by the unlikely combination of Judge Jules and the White Stripes, Radio 1’s itinerant festival now pulls in some of the biggest pop stars on the planet. This year’s Hull edition features Lorde, Katy Perry, Lana Del Rey and scores more big-hitters.
Burton Constable Hall, Hull, 27-28 May
