Bikini Kill Announce Debut New Zealand Show

Olympia, Washington icons of the Riot Grrrl movement, Bikini Kill have announced their first ever headline show in Aotearoa, performing at Tāmaki Makaurau's The Powerstation on 15th March. Feminist punk rock revolutionaries whose rallying cry “Girls to the front!” is amplified locally with today's To The Front youth music initiatives, founding members Kathleen Hanna (Le Tigre), Tobi Vail and Kathi Wilcox (both also of The Frumpies) will be joined by by guitarist Sara Landeau (The Julie Ruin) for this absolutely unmissable all-ages event, with support from Auckland's legendary Fake Purr.

Exploding out of Olympia's DIY community in the early nineties, Bikini Kill's landmark releases include 1991's Revolution Girl Style, '93's Pussy Whipped, '96's Reject All American, and their '93 split with Huggy Bear Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah. Inactive from '97 and reunited as a touring band in 2019, Bikini Kill's message is as urgent and confrontational as ever — we advise moving fast to secure your spot...

Bikini Kill
with Fake Purr

Wednesday 15th March - The Powerstation, Auckland (all ages)

Tickets from Ticketmaster & AAA Ticketing

Here's Bikini Kill's 1993 anthem 'Rebel Girl', featured in the soundtrack to director Sini Anderson's 2013 documentary on Kathleen Hanna The Punk Singer...

Listen to Fake Purr's 2002 classic 'Nazi Fuck Wit'...

Press release:

Banished Music, Strange News, and Solid Entertainment are proud to present, for the first time in New Zealand, iconic feminist punk pioneers Bikini Kill.

Riot grrrl trailblazers Bikini Kill founding members Kathleen Hanna, Tobi Vail and Kathi Wilcox are set to bring the riot to one very special all ages show at the Powerstation, Wednesday 15th March, 2023.

When Bikini Kill formed in Olympia, Washington back in 1990, they quickly earned a reputation for one of the fiercest bands around, with their unapologetically political lyricism, DIY ethos, and high energy, often confrontational live shows.

Credited with instigating the Riot Grrrl movement, the band created a legacy that is still resonating across the planet, with a commitment to helping empower and inspire the feminist voice through music.

Since reuniting in 2019 the band are selling out shows wherever they go, a testament to their unquestionable impact and cultural importance in musical history. Their live shows have lost none of what made them so brilliantly punk in the first place.

“Revolution, girl-style, now!” Bikini Kill believe that if all girls started bands the world will change. They actively encourage women and girls to start bands as a means of cultural resistance. Their first ever visit to Aotearoa is a one-off show on Wednesday 15th March at the Powerstation which the band specifically requested be all-ages, to allow for their youngest fans to be able to be a part of it all.

For a band that began over thirty years ago, theirs is a message that has never been more relevant, with each new generation finding inspiration, education, and solace in songs like, Feels Blind, Double-Dare Ya and Rebel Girl which was just announced as the 10th best song of the 90s by Pitchfork>,?p>

We are beyond excited to be hosting Bikini Kill this March as part of their ongoing world tour, with original members Kathleen Hanna, Tobi Vail, and Kathi Wilcox joined by guitarist Sara Landeau (The Julie Ruin).