This past week, CFRE staff members and a few DJs went to New York City to attend CMJ’s Music and Film Marathon, and to take in the sights of the city, eat the food, and maybe do some shopping too. CFRE attended tons of showcases, saw dozens of acts all across the city and drank everything along the way.

Some CFRE favourite acts from CMJ this year include Dum Dum Girls, Electric Guest, We Barbarians, Neon Indian, Kid Savant, Canadian electro-pop duo Purity Ring, the ever-entertaining Datarock, and twin-sister-duo Nina Sky, who were gracious enough to pose for pictures with a few star-stricken staff members.

Some favourite shopping stops were Forever21 in Times Square (that apparently never closes… or is open late enough to shop after we left the venues) and TopShop’s TopMan. Popular food choices were Shake Shack, and Katz’s Delicatessen (serving corned beef sandwiches the size of your head!), and our favourite party was The Fader Fort, sponsored by Fiat and (most importantly) Bushmill’s Irish Whiskey.

There’s really nothing else to be said about CMJ or New York City; you just had to be there.