The Queens

The Queens are an indie rock band from Iloilo City, Philippines. The band found its start in 2017 as an entirely different act with a different vocalist formed to participate in a music competition and originally included members JC Catedral (guitar), Pao Losañes (guitar), Mac Garcisto (drums), and Lilith Brendan (bass). As the original vocalist moved on to other musical endeavors, the remaining members decided to continue performing together with Brendan taking on vocal duties. In 2019, The Queens qualified for the semifinals of Wanderbattle held in Cebu.

In 2022, as the band embarked on a tour with Pulsing Chunky, Amiel Jamindang (guitar) was brought into the fold to substitute for Losañes, who was unavailable at the time, and later joined the band full-time as a third guitarist. The latest member of the band, Mattie Miranda (guitar), joined to fill in the shoes of Losañes, who had decided to permanently take a step back from performing while still contributing to the band’s songwriting process.

While the band shares a common interest in artists like Last Dinosaurs, Paramore, and CHON, The Queens’ unique musical style is a result of the different influences each member brought to the table. The band cites influences ranging from Dream Theater and Tsunami Bomb to The 1975 and Chapelle Roan.

Driven primarily by Brendan’s songwriting, The Queens’ songs touch heavily on existential, societal, and unapologetically queer themes, with lyrics that are confessional and read like an open diary. While the music is primarily written as “notes-to-self”, the band hopes to find the people who need to hear these thoughts in order to feel a little less alone in the world.