There’s something electric about sitting across from a drag queen at the Stonewall Inn.

Masks, personas, alter-egos — they allow us to shapeshift. To survive. To stand a little taller when we feel small. To say the thing we might otherwise swallow. To be bold when boldness feels dangerous. In many ways, this is ancient magic. Ritualistic. Human.

[Photo by Kirill Bykanov] Girl rock is officially in for 2025, and NYC-based queer-indie-girl band Double Standard  is steering the revival with all the swagger and grit we didn’t realize we’d been missing. Formed in early 2024, the band started with college friends Siena Chanel and Lydia Eberling, whose musical chemistry laid the foundation for what would become an irresistible force of sound. They quickly enlisted bassist Zoe Arora, lead guitarist Lauren Dinhofer, and drummer Meg Cournoyer...