Hayley Williams Showed The Linda Lindas There’s Power In Saying No

In Elite Daily’s series Early Influences, musicians reflect on the songs and albums that left a lasting impression on them in their formative years. Here, The Linda Lindas dish on meeting some of their musical heroes, when fans can expect new music, and the empowering advice Hayley Williams shared with them.

In just two years, all-girl rock band The Linda Lindas have gone from playing a viral set at the Los Angeles Public Library to opening for some of the biggest bands in the world — and this is before most of them have even graduated high school. In fact, Bela Salazar (19), Eloise Wong (15), Lucia de la Garza (16), and Mila de la Garza (13) just spent the summer supporting Paramore on the This Is Why Tour.

“The hardest thing about being on tour with Paramore was we couldn’t sing to their lyrics every night. Otherwise, we would lose our voices for our shows,” Lucia tells Elite Daily at The Showbox theater after a VIP experience for Marriott Bonvoy members. For the Seattle, Portland, and San Francisco shows on the group’s headlining Fall Mini Tour, fans of The Linda Lindas used their points to attend a Marriott Bonvoy Moment including an intimate soundcheck, two tickets to the concert, and a cute merch bundle with a tote, tumbler, and signed poster.

After meeting fans, the group sits together on one couch backstage to chat, and Lucia says that Hayley Williams is one of their biggest supporters. “She’s just super cool and wants to see us succeed.”

As someone who has been in the industry since her teenage years, the “Misery Business” singer shared some sage advice with the band: There is power in saying no. Bela says that was important to hear. “You feel like you always have to say yes, even if it’s not the right thing.” Despite this reminder, the band isn’t ready to stop what they’re doing anytime soon.

They’ve already got their summer plans for 2024 all mapped out — The Linda Lindas will be opening up for Green Day on their stadium tour, along with The Smashing Pumpkins and Rancid. The band is also hoping to do more headlining shows to close out 2023, as well as release new music. Along the way, they hope to share the stage with more of their musical influences.

While different artists have inspired their individual sound, below, The Linda Lindas share the three groups who have made the biggest impact on their music as a whole — and what it was like meeting some of them.

The Go-Go’s

While most teens their age might say their first concert experience was Justin Bieber or Taylor Swift, Mila says hers was The Go-Go’s. The all-female rock band, also from Los Angeles, share a lot in common with The Linda Lindas, so it makes sense they’d be a huge musical inspiration for them.

Growing up, sisters Mila and Lucia had a record of The Go-Go’s that they would play all the time, so much so that the songs are now ingrained in their memories. “Now, even though I don’t listen to them every day, I still know a lot of the lyrics because of how catchy their music is,” Lucia says. “Our Lips Are Sealed” was the first song she ever learned on guitar, which Lucia says influenced how she writes and plays now.

Eloise, who plays bass, says she’s often told that the way she performs is similar to Kathy Valentine of The Go-Go’s. “Everything you listen to and everything you learn, it all influences the music that you play.” The Linda Lindas have gotten to meet several of The Go-Go’s, including Valentine. “We only have not met Charlotte,” Lucia says before Eloise adds, “We’re putting that out there.”

As for their favorite song by the group, The Linda Lindas list off tracks like “Head Over Heels,” “This Town,” and “Can’t Stop the World.” “We could literally go on and on,” Lucia says.

Ramones

Another band that’s been ingrained in The Linda Lindas’ memories since they were little is the Ramones. Lucia says, “My first memory is probably in the car with Eloise and her dad playing it.” According to Eloise, this group was all she listened to when she was younger, and she really appreciates the emotion that the band puts into their songs.

That passion and feeling is something The Linda Lindas replicate in tracks like “Resolution/Revolution” and “Too Many Things.” The band has even covered many of the Ramones songs for shows, but they say their favorite is “Danny Says.”

Along with the emotional aspect of their music, Eloise says, listening to the Ramones has taught the band a lot about simplicity. “When we started out, we barely knew how to play our instruments, and the Ramones showed us that you don’t need a lot of complexity to make good music.” You just need a few chords, a verse, and a chorus.

Blondie

One of the first concerts the band went to together was Blondie at the Irvine Amphitheater. So it was a full-circle moment when The Linda Lindas opened for them earlier this year, around the same time they were performing at Coachella. The Linda Lindas have been manifesting an opportunity to play with Blondie for years, and Lucia says it was their “dream show.”

The band’s love for Blondie has a lot to do with Debbie Harry’s iconic voice. In addition to being a fashionista, Lucia says, “Her voice is just very recognizable,” and she also points out that the band’s sound as a whole works really well together. “That’s something we are striving for — how all the instruments interact with each other.”

Songs like “Call Me” and “Dreaming” — which happen to be two of the band’s favorite tracks — perfectly showcase this synchronicity, and Eloise especially appreciates the rhythm section in Blondie’s music. “They’re all so good!”

Now that the band has checked off their dream of performing with Blondie, they say they’d love to do shows with The Go-Go’s, Sleater-Kinney, and Joan Jett next. The power of manifestation has worked in their favor before, so only time will tell if these musical dreams can become a reality as well.