Riot grrrl icons Bratmobile have announced plans to reunite for their first show in over 20 years. It’s not happening in Australia, but there is some suggestion it won’t be a one-off.
The activist punk act, who burst out of the same early-nineties American scene that birthed Bikini Kill, Sleater-Kinney and more, will get back together to perform at the 2023 Mosswood Meltdown festival in Oakland, California on Sunday, 2nd July. They’ll be co-headlining alongside the recently reformed Le Tigre.
Bratmobile – ‘Eating Toothpaste’
“It’s been more than 20 years since our last tour, and life has changed and grown in many ways,” original vocalist Allison Wolfe and drummer Molly Neuman posted in a joint statement on Instagram.
“In 2019, we got the original lineup back together to play a big birthday party for our band sister, Tobi Vail of Bikini Kill. After the show, we talked about playing again, but it wasn’t the right time, and then… 2020. Now we are both living in Los Angeles, and when the opportunity to play this special show in one of our hometowns came up, we decided to go for it.”
The pair revealed that guitarist Erin Smith won’t be joining them for the upcoming reunion show due to prior commitments. However, “we’re hoping we’ll be able to play together with her again in the near future,” they said.
“We will be playing this show with a few other people—Rose Melberg on guitar, Audrey Marrs on keys, and Marty Key on bass—who will try to fill the gap and honor her riffs.”
Bratmobile released their debut album, Pottymouth, in 1993, followed up by The Real Janelle EP in 1994. Their second album, Ladies, Women and Girls, didn’t arrive for another six years, with their third and most recent album, Girls Get Busy, landing in 2002.
If you’re a Bratmobile super-fan, you can grab tickets to the Oakland reunion show right here. Otherwise, here’s hoping some Australian dates are on the cards for the future.
Till then, you can catch Bratmobile’s riot grrrl comrades Bikini Kill touring down under for the first time in 25 years later this month.
Further Reading
Bikini Kill Have Announced Their First Australian Tour In 25 Years
Bikini Kill to Speak at Sydney Opera House’s All About Women Festival
