Coachella 2023: Technical issues couldn't stop The Linda Lindas

The Linda Lindas catapulted to fame after a 2021 video of the all-teen girl rock band performing its song "Racist, Sexist Boy" went viral on social media, earning praise from rockers such as Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine, Kathleen Hanna of Bikini Kill and more.

On Saturday at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, the band, which features guitarist Bela Salazar (18), guitarist Lucia de la Garza (16), bassist Eloise Wong (15) and Mila de la Garza (12), performed in the Sonora tent.

But things didn't go smoothly. Here are some takeaways from The Linda Linda's set.

The band was plagued by technical issues

It's never a good sign when the show begins, and the microphones don't appear to be working correctly. It's even worse when one a mic isn't working and one of the guitars isn't coming through the mix — which is exactly what happened moments after The Linda Lindas walked on stage. Salazar's guitar eventually switched on, but Lucia de la Garza and Wong's microphones barely worked, or were inaudible.

The only microphone that worked was Wong's, and three of the members harmonized together or sang lead vocals on it. Still, the girls took it in stride and tried to make the best of a bad situation while smiling, jumping around or communicating with the crowd.

"Thank you for bearing with us, we hope to see you again," Lucia de la Garza told the remaining crowd at the end of the show.

Now for the good news, Coachella is a festival of second chances, and the girls will have the opportunity to perform a flawless set next week.

One of the members got political

Between songs, Wong took the time to mention how "crazy" the world is becoming due to issues such as gun violence and anti-transgender legislation. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, the organization is tracking over 400 anti-LGBTQ bills in the U.S., 40 of those bills have passed.

"There's so much crap going on and this stuff is not fun. It needs to be talked about and we need to do something," Wong said.

Girl power

One of The Linda Lindas' best attributes is girl power, which the teens demonstrate on stage and through the lyrics on songs such as "Talking to Myself" and "Growing Up." Even though the girls are young, they play well together, and have catchy pop songs and heavier songs to excite the band's indie and punk-rock fans.

The songs have messages encouraging fans to vote, speak out against racism and even light-hearted tunes such as "Nino" about one of Salazar's cats.

Desert Sun reporter Brian Blueskye covers arts and entertainment. He can be reached at brian.blueskye@desertsun.com or on Twitter at @bblueskye.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Coachella 2023: Despite technical issues, The Linda Lindas have fun