The young punk band and their emo foremother are connected in more ways than one
In a moment of punk synergy, Hayley Williams joined young rockers the Linda Lindas for a performance of their breakout smash “Racist, Sexist Boy” at London’s O2 Academy Islington on Thursday night.
Williams has made a lot of music over the years — both as the front-woman of Paramore and on her own. Her brand of pop-rock can get real funky, dip into R&B, and channel Afropop icons like the Lijadu Sisters. But if you’ve been around for a while, you know she was pretty punk from the start, releasing the band’s angsty debut All We Know Is Falling when she was just 16 years old. Similarly, when the Linda Linda’s went viral in Covid-era 2021 for performing “Racist, Sexist Boy” at their local library, the four girls were between the ages of about 10 and 16 years old. To make matters cooler, per Stereogum, two of the members, Mila de la Garza and Lucia de la Garza, are actually daughters of record producer Carlos de la Garza, who worked on some of Paramore’s more recent albums.
So, it’s no wonder that Williams seemed to be having the time of her life with them. She was energetic and all over the place on their stage, singing and swinging her mic, and seemingly beaming with pride in the young women. They found time to make a TikTok together in London, too, showing off their stage outfits.
Both parties are busy: the Linda Lindas have a swath of tour dates across Europe and the U.S. through September, while Williams just dropped 17 new solo songs a few weeks ago (Paramore’s Zac Farro also released a solo effort in July) and a music video for one, “Glum,” earlier this week. “Ego Death At The Bachelorette Party” got a video this month, too.
