Ever since sisters Victoriah and Gabriela Bañuelos transformed into the sleek dance-pop duo REYNA in 2016, they’ve produced a stream of shimmering singles and played shows and festivals around the United States and Mexico. All the while, they’ve taken their sound into groovier, more intimate territory, most recently with 2023’s sweet and dreamy Limonada.
But over the years, they haven’t lost touch with their indie-rock roots as Vic and Gab, who took Milwaukee by storm in the early 2010s. The sisters entertained the idea of performing their old songs again for years, but it wasn’t until they left their record label last year that they felt the freedom to unearth their past.
Now, Vic and Gab are back – the band, that is. On Aug. 17, the Bañuelos sisters will take the stage at Vivarium twice, headlining as REYNA after opening for themselves as Vic and Gab. Ahead of the concert, MilMag caught up with REYNA to discuss the one-off “reunion,” their musical past and present, and their new song, “Mexico,” out Aug. 16.
What inspired this concert – playing two sets in one night?
Gabriela Bañuelos: For the last couple of years, we’ve been talking about how much we still love all the music that we wrote as Vic and Gab, and how sometimes it makes us sad that we can’t play it. And honestly, it was kind of like a joke. We were like, “Oh my god, what if Vic and Gab open for REYNA?” We talked about it for a bit, and then we were like, “We should do it.” I think it would be such a celebration of us when we were younger, and you rarely get to do that. Let’s just indulge ourselves and do it.
Why did now feel like a good time to do that?
Victoriah Bañuelos: It took us a while to get to this point. I feel like our label and our managers in the past have always pushed us away from Vic and Gab, just because they wanted us to create REYNA and the identity of REYNA. For the longest time, we’ve been wanting to do a reunion or even just play a song here or there, but it was always pushback from our management. And now that we’re independent again, and we can do whatever we want, we decided to to celebrate Vic and Gab and how far we’ve come. We’re very grateful for everyone that loves Vic and Gab and has stuck around for REYNA. We just want to celebrate that time and that music, and what it’s pushed us to be and what we do now.
Have you been rehearsing the old songs and rediscovering them? Finding new things that you like about them, or things that make you glad you’ve taken a different direction?
GB: Yeah, there’s definitely been all of that. There’s some songs where I’m just like, wow, I still love this song. I still feel these things that I wrote when I was a kid. But also, we’ve been making fun of each other because the intros to our songs as Vic and Gab are so long, and we’re like, what were we thinking? We also used to do what we call jams and extend the songs and make them even longer. And we were just like, wow, we were doing so much. Vic and Gab is still part of REYNA, obviously, because it’s us. But once like we started playing them again, I really appreciate how far we’ve come as songwriters.
VB: The songs are very interesting and intricate to play. For the time, it felt like something that we were just creating and it was normal. And now, it’s like I really have to try to play this, you know? My guitar parts have different tuning, so I had to rediscover that tuning, and all of that’s been a whole process.
Returning to your older material, do you see Vic and Gab and REYNA as wholly separate identities, or do you feel like there’s a little bit of bleed through?
GB: I feel like there is bleed through, but if I’m honest with myself, I think they are different. The way I describe it is, we were kids then. Everything we did as Vic and Gab was almost like a dream. It was just a dream that we had. When we started REYNA, everything had so much more purpose. It was more than just getting together and writing a song with Vic – we really wanted to prove that we could be in rooms and write songs with big writers and big producers.
Does this feel like closing a chapter?
GB: Absolutely. There have been many times where we have questioned, “Should we have changed our name? Should we have gone through that whole journey and process?” Obviously, there’s always gonna be a part of me that’s like, maybe we should have stayed Vic and Gab. But I’m so proud of what we’ve done as REYNA. We’ve worked really hard. We put ourselves in situations and in places where we really had to prove ourselves. I’m proud of the fact that we did it, and we’re still here. We’re still writing music. We’re still fighting the fight.
This show not only gives us a reason to look back on Vic and Gab, but also your last eight years as REYNA. What’s that journey been like?
VB: When we transitioned into REYNA, it was all brand new, and we had to put ourselves in positions where we were very uncomfortable, whether it was who we were writing with, who we were introduced to.
GB: Even our live show – we had better equipment, and we started doing things like using Ableton.
VB: It’s just been a journey of proving ourselves and coming out the other side with a really cool experience and a really cool song. I feel like every single REYNA song is very different. We haven’t written the same song twice, and I’m very proud of that. I tell Gab, the second that we get into a studio and we can’t write a good song, I quit.
GB: (Laughs.) Let’s hope that day never comes.
Are you planning a costume change at the concert?
GB: Absolutely. This has been one of the most fun parts of it, because, for example, when we were Vic and Gab, I used to play with this fringe coat all the time. So I’m absolutely going to wear that when we play our Vic and Gab set.
VB: We have very identifiable clothing for Vic and Gab. So if you know, you know.
What else can people expect at the concert?
VB: We’re releasing our new song (“Mexico”) on Friday, so you guys will be the first to hear it live. We wrote this song over FaceTime with one of our friends (Mike Kamerman) in L.A. He’s in Smallpools, and he has been super awesome and patient with us. We kind of just forced him into this FaceTime world, because we’ve written with him before in person. It’s just been really crazy to get out there, so we have a whole EP that we are writing with him over FaceTime that will be out by the end of the year.
GB: But yeah, we have other little things planned – merch – and it’s gonna be a fun night.
What inspired your new song “Mexico”?
VB: I went through a breakup with a girl from Mexico, and when I started traveling again to the same city where I went to college, I was like, oh my God. She kinda ruined my oasis. This is where I have my friends and my fun and my getaways. And when I started going back to Mexico, I was like, it just doesn’t feel the same. And once I started going with my new partner, I didn’t even think of my ex. And I started creating new memories, and I was like, she didn’t ruin Mexico for me. Mexico is the same feeling and the same oasis for me, so that’s where the idea came from.
Gab, you performed the national anthem at Kamala Harris’ rally in West Allis last month. What was that like?
GB: I told Vic when I came off stage, I think that’s one of my most favorite performances I’ve ever done. I was very nervous the night before. I kept having vivid dreams that I was going to forget the lyrics, so I was terrified. But when I came out and I started singing, midway through, everyone started singing along. And I felt so proud to be American, and so proud of all the people there who just felt so hopeful. It was just a beautiful moment, and I don’t think I’ll ever forget it.
