Riot Grrrl in September, 2026
Hi, everyone! Today on Hysteria, I wanted to talk about the present-day and future implications of the Riot Grrrl movement, since it's making a slow and surprising comeback. Sit back and enjoy while I talk about what's new in the feminist punk sphere!
❀ Daisy Chain Fields
If you read my intro episode for the 2026-2027 school year, you'll know that
Olivia Rodrigo hosted an all-women music festival called Daisy Chain Fields. As I talked about then, there were a lot of popular girl/riot grrrl groups there, which makes me thrilled that they're still performing for the next generation of feminists. I like how, while there are newer artists on this list, like Mitski, Not For Radio, and Olivia Rodrigo, there are still bands performing like Garbage, Bikini Kill, and the Breeders, who paved the way for women in (rock) music. This begs the question for me: how is our generation of musical feminists different from the ones in the nineties? Obviously, they are very different than the musicians that predated them, but is that for a good reason? I think there's a bit more we need to discuss about that. As always, there is a give-and-take. Almost all of the ninety's bands that I talk about on Hysteria are white, cis women---that's why I think it is incredibly impactful to have Black women, Latina women, and Asian & Pacific Islander women up on that stage professing the idea that not all women who fight for the rights of all women are white. I think it's amazing that queer bands like Bikini Kill paved the way for LGBTQIA+ artists like Eli to perform on stage in a safe, welcoming environment like Daisy Chain Fields. Of course, there are so many other things that the feminists of today are much better at than those of the 90s, but there are some things that they did better, too. This might just be a widespread societal issue, but I don't feel that the riot grrrls were as preoccupied with their appearances as some performers of today are. Generally, I do think people think that these days we are all too concerned about how we are perceived by others, no fault to the performers. Do you guys think that Daisy Chain Fields should be an annual thing? I, for one, think it would be great to have something like that in Chicago...
❀ Riot Grrrl Musicians on Tour
Unfortunately, we're getting to the point where the musicians of the nineties are entering their 50s and 60s, which means we have less and less time to see them go on tour. I consider myself really lucky to live in Chicago, because more often than not, it's a stop on the US tour. If you live in the Chicagoland area, as I do, you might have seen, or have the chance to see, some of these artists go on tour.
Bikini Kill played at the Salt Shed on September 14th, 2026.
Bratmobile came to Riot Fest on September 18th, and on the 19th, they played a show at The Empty Bottle in Chicago.
Sleater-Kinney and Liz Phair played the Salt Shed on September 17th.
L7 will be performing at the Vic Theatre on November 1st.
If there are any more riot grrrl bands going on tour, I'll definitely make sure to show them to you guys! And I just might be attending one...
❀ The Passing of Jennifer Finch
As I mentioned earlier, the pioneers who paved the way for women in rock music are getting older. Sadly, on July 18th, 2026, Jennifer Finch, the bassist for L7, passed away due to brain cancer. She was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2011, and it was revealed in mid-July of 2026 that she had been battling an aggressive form of brain cancer.
She was only 59 years old. L7 was set to perform an entire tour with Finch before she passed. It truly does break my heart to see someone so talented and vital to the riot grrrl scene taken so young. She had more songs to play, more photos to take, and more hearts to touch. Because she would have wanted the tour to go on, L7 has chosen to replace Finch with a bassist she personally commended, but the band will never be the same after losing such a punk powerhouse. Rest in Peace, Jennifer Finch.
And on that sad note, I'm going to end it there. I hope you all enjoyed this post, through all of its ups and downs. Tuesday, September 22nd, the day this comes out, I will be seeing my favorite band since I was 14 (Weezer), so I'm very sorry if next week's blog post is about that !! I'm just so excited, and I've wanted to see them on tour for like five years now. In the future, you can expect to hear me talk about Melissa Auf Der Maur's new photobook collection from her time in the band Hole in the nineties. I will be getting my hands on that soon. Until then, have fun! Keep screaming!
Weez ya later,
Mila
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