As longtime fans of siblings Victoriah and Hannah Gabriela Banuelos, we tend to get excited whenever they take the stage in Milwaukee. After a flurry of activity around last October’s release of their Limonada EP, the duo known as REYNA will step back into the spotlight in their hometown this summer when they play the Vivarium on Aug. 17.
The pair already had a couple notable dates on their calendar courtesy of some upcoming festival appearances south of the border: Hey Girls Fest in Mexico City on May 24 and Multiverso Fest in Monterrey on May 25. If those shows were a bit of a stretch for your Memorial Day weekend plans, now you can keep it local a few months later at Pabst Theaters Group’s East Side venue.
The Vivarium concert comes at a time of artistic freedom for REYNA, who took even greater control over the release of Limonada by utilizing an artist-first platform called EVEN. The pay-what-you-want system rewards fans for their support by offering everything from access to the duo’s private group chat to swag like a tote bag, t-shirt and vinyl version of the EP.
Vic and Gab talked about the move with 88Nine’s Dori Zori just before the album’s release, with the latter noting that, “It feels weird to have to sell your art. But I think Vic and I have gotten to a point where we are comfortable with being like, ‘This is what we do. And we value it. We put our time into it. We put our heart and soul into it. We love it. We love what we do.’
“It’s definitely a tricky little area for artists, but I think more things like EVEN could help the artists become more comfortable with that.”
The EP and all the associated perks are still available on EVEN if you want to show REYNA some love, and you can also do so in person at the Vivarium on Aug. 17. To pick up tickets, jump online or visit the Pabst/Riverside box offices starting at 10 a.m. this Friday.
