Feminist punk pioneers Bikini Kill have announced they will reunite for a handful of dates this spring. The lineup includes singer Kathleen Hanna, drummer Tobi Vail and bassist Kathi Wilcox, along with guitarist Erica Dawn Lyle who replaces guitarist Billy Karren. Tickets go on sale on Friday.
The shows – which will take place on April 25th at Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles, California, May 31st at Brooklyn Steel in Brooklyn, New York and June 1st at Terminal 5 in New York, New York – are the first full shows the group will perform since they broke up in 1997. In 2017, Hanna, Wilcox and Vail performed a one-off song of their 1993 track “Tammy Rae” during a surprise appearance at New York City’s The Kitchen.
Following their disbandment, the members went on to other musical projects, including Hanna forming Le Tigre and the Julie Ruin. In October, she launched a new T-shirt line called Tees4Togo with proceeds going to Peace Sisters, which helps send girls to school in the West African nation of Togo.
Last fall, Bikini Kill’s entire discography was released to streaming services. “Bikini Kill was a really intense, amazing band to be in and I’m happy that the music is going to be available to more people,” Hanna said. “I hope that for some people, it’s the gateway drug to feminism. I hope they listen to the music and have feelings that they’ve already felt reinforced.”
THIS IS NOT A TEST: Bikini Kill have announced shows in LA & NYC this spring. Tickets for all shows go on sale this Friday. More info: https://t.co/igiqXRYppM pic.twitter.com/UVYjg9zwEY
— Bikini Kill (@theebikinikill) January 15, 2019