SURLY GRRLY
PRESS
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"Honestly, this queercore protest band speaks to my soul. The joke I always have with my boyfriend when going to a Surly Grrly show is, 'Are you ready to feel marginalized, babe?' It’s half a joke, half not. This group is full of strong humans with something to say, and thankfully, that something to say is ideally in line with my beliefs. From standing up to yourself to being proud to be a female and knowing that, although the world is unfair, you have strength– it’s just a powerful message that comes through at a Surly Grrly set every time, and that power is something we could all use a little bit more of." -Girl at the Rock Shows, 2024
"I cannot put the amount of energy this band brings to a stage into words. Although they are first and foremost a protest band with a lot of important things to say throughout their tracks, they have a sense of fun laying out all of their thoughts for the audience. Their live show is so full of rage, passion, and fire that it’s impossible to get through one of their sets without feeling empowered and ready to take on the world. That’s exactly what they did to me on Friday night. Their set was short but it made an impact on me and clearly on the rest of the young audience which made me happy. The lyrical content, as mentioned, is super important and I loved the fact that the audience seemed to be taking it all in and taking all of the words to heart." -Girl at the Rock Shows, 2023
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"Talking in a booth at Mortimer's before the set, the four members of Surly Grrly confirmed what anyone with a decent sense of humor could easily decipher after seeing them perform: They're serious about tearing down the patriarchy and fighting abuse of power against women, the LGBTQ community and minorities. But they're also very interested in having a lot of fun while doing so.... A good indicator of the band's serious do-gooder intentions could be found at their merch table, where they housed a basket of free goods including women's health products, Narcan (to treat opioid overdoses) and a binder full of pamphlets and printouts on how to deal with trauma, abuse and depression.... Surly Grrly is hoping to make a serious point with their Mortimer's residency, too — using June's Pride Month to highlight the fact that there are enough high-quality queercore/LGBTQ-identifying punk and metal bands in town to easily fill four weekly lineups." - Chris Riemenschneider, Star Tribune, 2023
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"Surly Grrly is a self-described queercore protest band and I can’t think of a more fitting description than that. Musically, their songs are driven by ferocious drum beats that sent the audience into a frenzy. Surly Grrly’s lyrics are an act of protest and outrage. They call out corrupt systems in our society like toxic masculinity, rape culture, and crooked politicians.... Surly Grrly walks the talk... and truly lives their lyrics. At their merch table they had free menstrual products, contraceptives, narcan, and safer use kits available. They were also collecting donations for the local non-profit, Outfront Minnesota, which advocates for LGBTQ+ rights.... Surly Grrly started the night out with a bang and set the tone for the rest of the show." - McKenna Klaphake, Minneapolis Lens, 2023
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"As soon as [Surly Grrly] took the stage promptly at 8 PM, I was in love. With politically-driven lyrics addressing everything from bigotry to queerness and an attitude that matched the attitude of my soul in a perfect way, I felt myself completely caught throughout Surly Grrly’s set. Musically, Surly Grrly’s sound is very 80s punk with a bit of a modern garage-punk vibe to it. It has everything from catchy hooks to lyrics that make you feel riled up and ready to take on the world.... Honestly, I think they will be in my list of top local bands of 2023 and that’s after just one performance." - Girl at the Rock Shows, 2023
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"Too gay" - Venue Landlord in Indiana, 2021