By: Jesus De La Rosa
OwlFeed Journalist

Influential punk band Bikini Kill have recently announced a couple of reunion shows for Spring and Summer 2019. While not many, the few shows they have announced have caused tons of excitement and fans are clawing at tickets to see the legendary band play.  

Pioneering the Riot Grrrl movement in the ‘90s, an era that focused on tackling sexism and promoting female empowerment, Bikini Kill led a new wave of feminism and made punk more inclusive and accessible to female audiences. Starting off as just a fanzine by the same name, Bikini Kill evolved into a full band that took the ‘90s punk scene by storm. Since their inception, the band has been focused on creating a friendly environment for women in the punk scene, a scene whose misogyny previously shut them out.

Their live shows brought all the frantic energy of male hardcore bands of the time, setting out to show women are just as punk as men. With their platform, Bikini Kill were constantly bringing attention to many important issues such as sexism, sexual assault and abuse.

Bikini Kill and Riot Grrrl was necessary because it fought to make women heard, not just in the male-dominated punk scene but in their everyday lives, because, as written on one of their early tour posters, “In every form of media we see ourselves slapped, decapitated, laughed at, objectified, raped, trivialized, pushed, ignored, stereotyped, kicked, scorned, molested, silenced, invalidated, knifed, shot, choked and killed. Because a safe space needs to be created for girls where we can open our eyes and reach out to each other without being threatened by this sexist society…”

The reunited band consists of original singer Kathleen Hanna, Kathi Wilcox on the bass, and drummer Tobi Vail. Guitarist Billy Karren will be replaced by Erica Dawn Lyle.

Sadly, the bands reunion is a short stint, passing over a lot of major cities including Phoenix. The limited quantity of tickets have caused headaches for fans, and there has been a fight to stop ticket scalpers.

Either way, the tour has been embraced with open arms. There is no word on if they will record new music after this tour but has have their hopes.