IN CONCERT: BRONCHO - Bowery Ballroom, April 24 & 25th, 2026
Concert review by Skye Matlock, all photography by Tommy Krause
BRONCHO at Bowery Ballroom by Tommy Krause
On the weekend of April 24th, BRONCHO played two nights at Bowery Ballroom in front of completely different crowds, with plenty of fans unable to resist returning for night two.
The group is currently on tour celebrating ten years of their sludgy garage rock staple Double Vanity, performing the record front to back at each stop. Chicago and New York City were the only cities lucky enough to get two nights—adding a second set built around their 2014 release Just Enough Hip to Be a Woman, played in the same full-album fashion. Both nights followed the same structure—an album in full, followed by a second half that pulled in chunks of tracks from across their catalog—but the way each set unfolded couldn’t have felt more different.
Originating in Oklahoma, BRONCHO centers around Ryan Lindsey (vocals, guitar), Penny Pitchlynn (bass), Ben King (lead guitar)—with Brennan Smiley filling in on this run—and Nathan Price (drums).
Song to song, the band moves with a kind of unspoken precision. Loose, but locked in. Nothing ever feels forced with them, it always clicks.
DOUBLE VANITY
A one-band bill is undeniably badass. Before they even stepped onstage at Bowery Ballroom, a screen hung in front of the setup, looping what looked like home-video footage from the making of Double Vanity. We intently watched the band circa 2016—writing, recording, just existing in the process. Such a personal intro added to the vibe of the whole night, like we were all sitting in BRONCHO’s living room watching the record come together.
Shortly after the screen was carried off stage, each member entered one by one, with not much empty air before the first strum of the record’s opening track, “All Time.” The entire room lit up as we dove in together. The sound was massive—slow, loud, and physical in a way that made you feel every vibration instead of just hearing it. There was barely any pause between songs, other than Lindsey riffing on his mic when necessary.
“Fantasy Boys” bled straight into “I Know You,” and if you were lucky, you might’ve walked away with one of those heart-shaped gold necklaces engraved with the song title—a small details that made the whole night feel even more lived-in.
The guys in front of me immediately started belting along to “Jenny Loves Jenae”, like they had been waiting for this moment for years.
Pitchlynn and Price were the glue that night—locking everything in so tightly during “New Karma” that the whole band felts almost impossibly in sync.
After the final track “Wanna” faded into its end, Ryan Lindsey humbly spoke a few words of thanks. He dapped up a friend in the front row before jumping right into “All Choked Up” from their 2018 release Bad Behavior—we all flipped.
“Funny” and “Think I Pass” were a few inclusions from Natural Pleasure, as well as some teasers for night two with “Kurt” and “It’s On” from Just Enough Hip to Be a Woman. After the band exited, there were murmurs upon murmurs throughout the crowd of how it would be impossible to top the performance we just caught.
BRONCHO at Bowery Ballroom by Tommy Krause
Just Hip Enough To Be A Woman
If night one felt immersive—almost insular in the way Double Vanity unfolded—night two opened everything up.
Just Enough Hip to Be a Woman opens with two of the most iconic BRONCHO songs: “What” and “Class Historian”. The album carries a contrasting upbeat, optimistic energy to the night before—less about sinking into the sound, more about moving with it. So if Double Vanity isn’t your thing, there’s no doubt their second full-length will resonate.
From subtle smirks to high pitched squeals, sheer excitement spread through the audience with 2-3 hits of the opening tracks.
What stood out wasn’t just the contrast in tempo, but in feeling. The same precision was there—the same unspoken tightness between the band—but it carried differently. Where Double Vanity felt hypnotic and internal, Just Enough Hip to Be a Woman played outward, inviting you in instead of pulling you into a hypnotic trance. Even the mix of each instrument was dialed in differently than the night prior.
“Taj Mahal” and “Stay Loose” kept the feeling up with an underlying groove reminiscent of Double Vanity’s darkness.
After the full album run, the second half loosened even further—jumping between the bands other 4 albums (excluding Double Vanity) letting each song land on its own as opposed to blending into the next.
“Get Gone”, “Easy Way Out”, and “Sandman” stood out in the second half—trading the front-to-back predictability of the album for something surprising, allowing for familiar songs to feel unpredictable.
BRONCHO at Bowery Ballroom by Tommy Krause
ENCORE
An encore of “Try Me Out Sometime”, “Losers”, and “Can’t Get Past the Lips” were all treats from BRONCHO’’s debut Can’t Get Past the Lips. Closing the night on a more raw, high energy, punk rock note– they reminded us that their beginnings hold true to who they still are as a band.
BRONCHO continues their Double Vanity tour on the west coast from May 14th-June 19th, it’s never too late to listen.
Check out the setlist and Photo Gallery below!
All photos of BRONCHO by Tommy Krause
GALLERY
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(Click images for fullscreen / slideshow)
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