The Linda Lindas

How did you spend your summer vacation? Well, the Linda Lindas went out the road, alongside iconic rockers Smashing Pumpkins and Rancid, opening for Green Day on their Saviors tour. Then the summer ended and three of the four band members went back to high school. The Linda Lindas — sisters Lucia and Mila de la Garza, cousin Eloise Wong, and longtime friend Bela Salazar — have been a professional rock band for three years now. They caught the attention of punk rock luminaries Kathleen Hanna (Bikini Kill) and Bethany Cosentino (Best Coast), as well as Amy Poehler, all of whom encouraged the teens to pursue their rock-and-roll dreams. It has paid off big time. From the early success of the punk screamer “Racist Sexist Boy” through their debut album and continual touring, the Lindas are now internationally known. They have played festivals all over the world. They have opened for Blondie and for Paramore. They have headlined their own club shows. 2024 saw them release their sophomore album, No Obligation, which continues to blend high-end punk rock with hard-edged pop music. Oh, and drummer Mila started high school. After she played on tour with Green Day.

You’re 17-year-old Lucia de la Garza, playing and singing your new song “All in My Head” in front of several thousand fans, most of whom are there to see the headlining band Green Day a few hours later. In the middle of the song, a hoodie-clad Billie Joe Armstrong, Green Day’s lead singer, creeps out on stage and gives Lucia the “I’m watching you” sign, causing her to crack up and setting off a prank war that would continue throughout the national tour.

They have so many traditions — Bela designs some of the band’s clothes, Eloise does a lot of their artwork, and they honor cats, both in their makeup and their music. But their most sustaining tradition is boba. They seek out and sample the best bubble tea in all the cities they visit — and these days, they visit a lot of cities.