Purple City’s Final Day Leaves Us Under its Spell

Photo credit: Shannon Johnston (@me_onlylouder) - Desire at Purple City

As the fifth edition of Purple City came to a close, we joined the festival’s mascot Nurple (and new punk rock companion Penelope) from venue to venue dancing and shaking to the range of musical ferocity that reverberated throughout the weekend.

We began at Freemasons’ Hall with Vancouver’s Hillsboro, whose shoegaze carried as much emotional volatility and left us excited for more since we caught them at Sled Island in 2025. An incredible violinist threaded haunting melodies through the band’s distortion while Nima Walker’s vocals moved between desperate shouts and soft, wilting cries.

The band played material from A Party in Your Name, including the fuzzy standout “Acid Horror.” There is a youthful urgency to their music that sounds ready to soundtrack the emotional climax of an indie coming-of-age film. “Cost Evaluation” was another highlight with a blistering outro as Walker rolled across the stage, shredding his guitar. Walker also revealed that Hillsboro had recently finished writing and recording another record. If this set was any indication of the band’s continued evolution, whatever comes next will make them one to watch.

Photo credit: Shannon Johnston (@me_onlylouder) - Hillsboro at Purple City

Emerging Edmonton band Gucci Chain Letter followed, bringing a sound reminiscent of early Propagandhi and Alexisonfire, sharpened by a nu-metal edge and a trace of the melodic shoegaze associated with bands like Title Fight. While the project has only released a three-song debut EP so far, its members are far from newcomers. Collectively, they bring decades of experience from the Vancouver and Edmonton punk and hardcore scenes, with connections to Daggermouth, Youth Decay, This Is a Standoff, King Thief, Drive By Punch, Precursor and Counterfeit Jeans.

That history translated into a set that felt assured and lived-in, but its most affecting moment arrived at the end. The band dedicated its final song to their friend Kyle, who had died by suicide.

“I know everyone says to check in on your friends, but you also need to check in on yourself,” the vocalist told the room. “Go to the doctor. You’re loved, and you’re supposed to be here.” It acknowledged that caring for yourself can also require deliberate action and is something particularly resonant within punk and hardcore communities, where catharsis and mutual care have always existed alongside each other.

Photo credit: Shannon Johnston (@me_onlylouder) - Gucci Chain Letter at Purple City

We then headed to the Starlite Room for Sook-Yin Lee’s second performance of the festival. Playing an assortment of curious, playful instruments, Lee moved through new material from her 2026 album 72RHR, a title referencing the resting heart rate and the difficult pursuit of calm and balance amid upheaval.

With the festival’s physical and mental exhaustion beginning to settle in, Lee’s wellness-centred set arrived at exactly the right moment. A highlight came when she invited the audience to join her in repeating “Om Tare Tuttare Ture Soha,” the Green Tara Mantra. Associated with compassion, protection and liberation from fear and suffering, the chant transformed the performance into a communal exercise and a much needed, personal reset. Festivals can be difficult on both the body and mind. Between packed schedules, late nights, crowded rooms and the constant pressure to catch the next act, exhaustion can quietly overtake the excitement. Lee’s set offered an opportunity to reset the nervous system, notice our surroundings and feel grateful for the fleeting privilege of experiencing music with friends and loved ones gathered in the same room.

Photo credit: Shannon Johnston (@me_onlylouder) - Sook-Yin Lee at Purple City

Montreal-formed duo Desire closed the night with vocalist Megan Louise joined by producer and former Chromatics member Johnny Jewel. Together, they have helped shape the aesthetic world of the iconic Italians Do It Better label, becoming defining figures in the modern revival of Italo disco, darkwave and cinematic synth-pop.

Handing roses into the audience, the duo moved through favourites including “Don’t Call,” “Hard Times” and “Dangerous Drug,” before inevitably arriving at “Under Your Spell,” Desire’s cult classic from the Drive soundtrack. Hearing its opening notes in a room full of people nearing the end of an entire festival weekend felt transportive, pulling the crowd into the neon-lit romanticism that has made the song endure.

Louise twirled across the stage, later trading the roses for a fake skull that both she and Jewel kissed. The theatricality balanced camp, romance and macabre humour, as Louise’s command of the stage reaffirmed her status as a dark-electronic icon and curator whose influence remains unmistakable.

Photo credit: Shannon Johnston (@me_onlylouder) - Desire at Purple City