Concerts Reviews

Teen Punk Power: The Linda Lindas Bring Riotous Energy to Vancouver

Published

3 days ago

March 27, 2025

Hunter S.

On March 25th, teen punkers The Linda Lindas brought their No Obligation Tour to the Vogue Theatre in Vancouver. The young rock outfit brought the energy and had fans of all ages headbanging, dancing, and singing along.

Supporting was Nashville punk band Be Your Own Pet. After disbanding in 2008 due to burnout and negative experiences in the music industry, they recently reunited in 2021 at the request of musician Jack White. The band brought a garage rock vibe with heavy distorted guitars, raw vocals and energy from vocalist Jemina Pearl. She told the crowd their origins also started as a teenage band, and she was happy to see a lot of young faces in the audience.

The Linda Lindas are an all-female group from Los Angeles, consisting of Bela Salazar (Guitar), Eloise Wong (Bass), and sisters Lucia (Guitar) and Mila (Drums) de la Garza. Impressively, each member writes their songs and provides vocals. The band formed in 2018, seemingly growing in popularity each year. Since forming, they’ve signed with Epitaph Records, performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live, played Coachella, opened for Paramore, The Rolling Stones, and most recently, Green Day. In October 2024, they announced their 2025 North American Tour in support of their second studio album, No Obligation.

At around 9:15 pm, the band came on and opened with the heavy hitter and title track “No Obligation”. Passionate vocals from Eloise, coupled with heavy guitar tones from Bela and Lucia, set the tone for the night. It was evident off the bat sound was a little unbalanced as it was hard to hear the vocals at times, and the kick drum seemed to flood the sound. But that didn’t affect the delivery and passion of the music.

Having only two studio albums, they played a 22-song set, playing every song from No Obligation (2024) and a few from their debut, Growing Up (2022). What stood out was the two songs sung by Bela Salazar, “Yo Me Estreso” and a cover of “Tren Al Sur” by Los Prisioneros. She sported a classical guitar and sang in Spanish, which surprisingly blended very well with the heavier sound of the electric guitars. Another great showcase was 14-year-old Mila on the drums. She had a lot of tastefull fills in songs such as “Too Many Things” while also singing lead vocals, which doesn’t sound like an easy thing to do.

The band had an unpolished feel that played into their charm. Often accidentally bumping into each other, jumping around with their guitars, and at one point realize that they had different setlists from each other. They eventually got it together, laughed it off and went into the next song. It was evident that the band was having fun, often joking with the crowd between songs and even singing Happy Birthday to a few members in the audience.

Closer the the end of their main set, the band performed “Lose Yourself” and “Nino,” implementing crowd participation with a singalong portion, getting the crowd jumping up and down. As the night was coming to a close, the band came back on for an encore, paying homage to bands Green Day and Bikini Kill with “When I Come Around” and “Rebel Girl”.

The Linda Lindas have gained a diverse and passionate fanbase, from mothers bringing their young daughters to punks with leather jackets and even senior listeners in the audience. It’s great to see they have created an identity of their own, and it’s exciting to see what the future holds for this young band.

Check out our favourite photos of the night below or head to our Facebook page for the full gallery!