The Linda Lindas Rock Coachella
As the dust settles and ravers hang up their sequined outfits until next year, Coachella reverts from one of the biggest music and art festivals in the world back into a quiet California city. This year, Coachella took place over two weekends beginning April 14th and hosted over 150 artists promising a wide range of talent and unforgettable performances. With an oversaturation of media coverage and special attention given to the festival’s major headliners, it’s easy to glaze over the hundreds of other amazing performances that took place at Coachella. After sifting through hours of the festival’s coverage and countless sets, without a doubt my favorite performance was by The Linda Lindas. A highly underrated set filled with passion, electricity, and fun, The Linda Lindas brought their A-game and rocked the valley.
The Linda Lindas truly bring something unique and unforgettable to the table that sets them apart from other bands. Composed of sisters Mila de la Garza (12) and Lucia de la Garza (16), their cousin Eloise Wong (15), and family friend Bela Salazar (18), the half Asian, half Latinx punk band are breaking barriers and proving talent has no gender, race, or age. The astonishingly young LA-based group performed together for the first time in 2018 at the Bootleg for the 3rd annual Girlschool LA, a festival for music and ideas intended to connect, celebrate and inspire women leaders, artists and voices. Kristin Kontrol of the Dum Dum Girls played a set and assembled a cover band of local child musicians ages 4 to 15 to play alongside her. The set also included surprise guests Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Best Coast who performed some of their hits with the children. After gaining a bit of notoriety from the Girlschool performance, The Linda Lindas went on to open up for major artists such as Alley Cats, The Last, Bleached, and Bikini Kill. In 2021, The Linda Lindas really made waves when they were catapulted into the spotlight after making a brief appearance in Amy Poehler’s Netflix film Moxie, a film all about girl power and standing up for your rights. That same year, The Linda Lindas gave a now-legendary performance at the Los Angeles Public Library where one of their songs “Racist, Sexist Boy” unexpectedly went viral on social media and landed them a deal with the renowned Epitaph Records.
This year, the all-teen girl group achieved another impressive feat: not only did they secure a spot at Coachella, The Linda Lindas are also among the youngest musicians to ever play the festival. On Saturday of both weekends, The Linda Lindas performed in the Sonora tent and left audiences in awe of their sheer talent. Despite having some technical issues with the guitar and microphones during their first set, the band made the best of it and powered through with their enthusiasm. Their songs speak to the audience on many levels and dissect issues of growing up, sexism, racism and human rights. In true punk fashion, the teens also took a moment from the fun to address the audience and bring awareness to how “Crazy” the world is regarding emerging Anti-Transgender legislation and gun violence.
In short, The Linda Lindas absolutely rocked it. Watching the performance, you forget how young the band really is because they make it seem so effortless. Decked out in their usual colorful wardrobe and kitty makeup, the girls poured everything they had into each song. Powerful vocals paired with meaningful messages and catchy music made each song impactful. In essence, the show was kids being kids; uninhibited, free of judgment and full of fun. Even watching the sets from home, the band transported me to Coachella and I had to get up and dance. Seeing girl power in its rawest form and watching these young women pave the way for others was inspiring. The band’s setlist included old hits and songs “Growing Up,” “Oh!,” and “Talking to Myself” off their first full-length album Growing Up. They may not have headlined or had the most elaborate stage setup at Coachella but they didn’t need any of that to steal the show.
Ahead of Coachella, The Linda Lindas released their newest single “Too Many Things” and will tour in the US with Paramore this summer. The band will also play a few more notable festivals this year including Adjacent Fest, Boston Calling, and Lollapalooza. If you haven’t already, check out the video of “Racist, Sexist Boy” that started it all (linked below) and get hooked on The Linda Lindas. You can stream their music including their newest single on Spotify or on their website. You’re never too old or young to do what you love so get inspired and break down barriers.
The Linda Lindas viral video – “Racist, Sexist Boy” (Live at LA Public Library) : https://youtu.be/J5AhU5Q7vH0
The Linda Lindas @ Coachella 2023 – https://youtu.be/FSt6WntbyQo
