Photo credit: REYNA
Milwaukee synth-pop sisters REYNA rocked the Miller Lite Oasis Stage despite what appears to be an ongoing theme for this year’s festival—torrential downpours offset by bursts of sunshine and muggy heat, which are then cancelled out by more downpours. Aside from the all-enduring Summerfest diehards willing to trek through the Henry Maier grounds at whatever costs, it’s easy to see that on-and-off severe storm warnings looming over the past week and some uncertainty on whether certain shows will go on or not have put a bit of a damper on the experiences of some festival-goers. But here, that wasn’t the case.
REYNA’s Tuesday, July 2, evening performance followed an earlier, intimate bonus acoustic show as part of the newly-introduced American Family Insurance House series.
Vic and Gabby Banuelos took the Oasis stage clad in tangerine and sunflower yellow attire, opening their set with the melancholy yet dreamy “Ink on My Skin,” where Vic’s soft, staccato-like guitarwork plays off of lush, glistening synth tones. “How are you guys doing? We survived the rain. And as you can tell, our hair looks amazing,” joked Gab in between songs.
As of late, REYNA has become somewhat synonymous for churning out back-to-back, blazing electro-pop gold (that also doubles as the perfect mini-soundtrack apt for those long summer road trips) like “Cool with It” and “Heartbeat,” both of which made an appearance on the evening setlist and appeared to have been the turning point for the—up until now—mostly stationary crowd.
The duo has continued this streak with their latest single, “The Way I Loved You,” which is based on the aftermath of a breakup and wanting to love another with that same ferocity before the heartache ensued, despite also wanting to keep your guard up (“I really wanna love somebody new, the way I loved you/I really wanna let somebody in, the way I let you/But it’s hard to when it’s not you/Fooling myself into thinking it’s true”).
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A wave of jumbo beach balls steadily made their way across the very playful, enthused audience as REYNA closed their set with 2016’s “Spill Your Colors,” showcasing the band’s ability to captivate a (seemingly) newly-acquainted crowd and get them moving, even in some not-so-favorable conditions.
