Most people think of indie alternative bands as a few straight guys playing modern rock music in their garage. However, several queer artists have broken into the genre and introduced new elements.

Rio Romeo first got attention for their song “Nothing’s New” in 2022. Their music is generally raw with an easy piano beat and occasionally added triangle, contradicting the typically harder sound in the genre.

Their first album, Obnoxious Liberal: The Musical, consists of nine songs that are all under three minutes long, but got popular on social media.

The Last Dinner Party is a British indie rock band formed in 2021. They currently only have one album, Prelude to Ecstasy, which was released in 2024.

Unlike most bands, their music features a mandolin and flute, both played by Emily Roberts, who is also the lead guitarist.

Towa Bird’s music features a heavy bass and quick pace. Since the release of her single “Wild Heart” in 2023, she opened for the American leg of Reneé Rapp’s Snow Hard Feelings Tour and played guitar in Rapp’s band for the rest of the tour.

Despite Bird’s music following the typical fast beat and quick paced singing of the genre, she stands out with her lyrics. She sings about her experiences as a woman in a capitalist society as well as with other women.

Bird also plays guitar on her albums and live performances, unlike many bands that have separate vocalists and guitarists.

All three of these artists are able to capture the experience of being with a woman – from a woman’s perspective. They are often able to express these feelings more clearly and concisely than the men who so often dominate the genre.

These smaller artists have truly taken advantage of the outreach that social media, especially Tik Tok, gives them to build their own spaces. Queer artists and bands have taken the alternative/indie genre, reworked it, and made it their own.