On Friday, July 7, I had the pleasure of interviewing The Regrettes (above) and attending their show. The band is signed by Warner Bros. Music and, believe it or not, every member is under 21.
During the interview, band members Lydia, Maxx, Sage and Genessa fumed about the disrespect they get because of their age. But, make no mistake, The Regrettes have more than enough experience and talent to garner the esteem of their musical peers.
The Regrettes were formed in 2016 and signed with Warner Bros. Music in the same year. The band’s lead singer, Lydia, is a veteran in the music industry despite her age and is one of the youngest people ever to perform at SXSW. And, fun fact, she was a part of Ryan Gosling’s band, Dead Man’s Bones. The rest of the band honed their skills by going to the School of Rock. While the band’s average age is only 18, their sound is much more mature.
After first listening to The Regrettes, you might think that they are simply a punk rock band. However, they are so much more than that. Their new and refreshing songs mimic sounds from many different eras, like ‘60s doo wop groups and ‘90s punk rock. This is why The Regrettes’ music not only attracts teenagers, but an older audience as well. As they performed, I saw people of all different ages bonding over the music the Regrettes blasted through the speakers.
The Regrettes came on-stage at 9 p.m. and opened with “I Don’t Like You,” a song from their debut album, “Feel Your Feelings, Fool!” that dropped in January of this year. The band played many crowd favorites such as, “Hey Now,” “A Living Human Girl” and even “Seashore,” a song written by Lydia directed at people who have put her down because of her age, according to Genius.com. Songs like these brought the crowd to life; no one could help dancing along. The band’s energy was contagious. Lydia dedicated “Seashore” to our current president and made the crowd go wild.
The Regrettes even played some of my favorites off their record, such as “Lacy Loo” and “Picture Perfect,” a track that contains a rift from Salt-N-Pepa’s classic song, “Push It.” The concert ended with them playing “Hot,” a song about calling out people for being narcissistic and thinking everyone wants to be in a relationship with them. I know that feeling, but the song was more relatable on a literal level because I was sweaty after dancing along to their whole set.
The Regrettes were amazing and it was definitely a concert I didn’t regret going to. Check out more of The Regrettes here.