Pinksqueeze – The Gay Agenda

Today, Chicago based queer power pop band Pinksqueeze share video for “The Gay Agenda,” off their upcoming new album, We Can Have It out on October 23, 2026 via Independent.

Pinksqueeze says, The day after Trump got re-elected, the four of us got together for band practice and songwriting for this album. That day, we all felt so sad and angry that we weren’t really able to write about anything other than our feelings about that, and we started writing “The Gay Agenda.” When we talk about how this song came to be, typically we laugh.  This was the most frankenstein-ed song we have ever written together as a band. 

Most of our songs have a collaborative element but are not completely collaboratively written- this one was, and it wasn’t easy but we love where it landed. Our main idea was to have a song where each one of us had the chance to sing or shout about the changes in the world we want to see, and to name them very directly.  It’s a form of magic and manifestation for us.  There were a few pieces of some song ideas that got stitched together and replaced.  As we continued working on this song there were times that some of us felt like the song just wasn’t going to work. Then, surprisingly, one day we got it to its current form and said “hey… is this song actually good?” This song has become one of our favorites from the album to play live, and really sums up the ethos of the whole album, lending it’s lyrics “We can have it” to the name of the album.

Can punk rock help us have a better world?  Chicago based independent queer band Pinksqueeze thinks so, and just might convince you, too!  Voted one of Chicago’s best punk rock bands in 2022 and 2024 in the Chicago Reader, Pinksqueeze’s distinctive sound, energy, and ethos have set them apart in Chicago’s punk and rock scenes.  Drawing influences from punk, indie, pop, emo, and grunge, their music focuses on queer joy, healing, and community.  Their high energy shows have been described as “Like a band from Scott Pilgrim come to life” and “Like being at a sleepover with friends you haven’t met yet.”

Pinksqueeze formed as a two piece with Chicago newcomers and guitarists April Hickey from Michigan’s rural Upper Peninsula and Ava Marvin from Virginia’s DC area in 2018, after meeting by chance on the Chicago Queer Exchange facebook group and bonding over what seemed like almost too many shared interests over some vegan comfort food at The Chicago Diner.  The goal to start a band formed quickly in their relationship, leading Hickey and Marvin to release their first EP Chicago is a Lake Town in 2020.  From the beginning, the two knew they wanted to play with a full band, and that to preserve the authenticity of the songs they were writing, the project would need members with a shared sapphic identity and experience.  Knowing that all good things are worth the wait, April and Ava took their time finding the perfect rhythm section for the project.  In 2021 the stars aligned when friend of the band Anna White returned to Chicago after a couple years back in her home of Seattle during the pandemic to join as bassist as well as visual artist to create Pinksqueeze’s defining art aesthetic.  Around that same time in 2021, and after years of struggling to find a Chicago-based queer identified drummer that wasn’t already in 4+ projects, Ava found Logan Greenfield from Nebraska while swiping on Tinder, self described as a drummer new to the city. After sending Greenfield a “super like”, Greenfield joined the project, creating the Pinksqueeze full band. As the COVID 19 vaccine became available and venues opened, Marvin, Hickey, White and Greenfield hit the ground running with live performances locally and across the US, releasing their second EP and first project as a full band Quarter Life Crisis in 2022. All four members share songwriting, lead vocals and supporting vocals, making the project uniquely and undeniably shaped by all four members.

Pinksqueeze’s first full length album, Be Gay Have Fun released independently in 2023 won Best Local Album of 2023 in The Chicago Reader and was featured in Apple Music’s Best Punk Releases of 2023. Be Gay Have Fun helped define the group’s sound and brought a focus on inner child healing and queer joy.  As audiences continued to embrace Pinksqueeze’s empowering and fun energy, Pinksqueeze continued writing with a deeper mission to give back to the queer community through representation and celebration of sapphic experiences.  In 2024, Pinksqueeze released their single “Crybaby” while on a tour spanning the midwest to the Pacific Northwest along with Nashville based power-pop band The Dreaded Laramie.  Pinksqueeze frequently plays festivals and shows in Chicago and throughout the Midwest, and has headlined Chicago stages including The Metro. 

Pinksqueeze has opened for acts including Pool Kids, Into It. Over It., sports, Hellogoodbye, Speedy Ortiz, The Aquadolls, Claud, Pansy Division, The Avengers, Jer, and Insignificant Other.

In October 2026, Pinksqueeze independently releases their second full length Album, We Can Have It, a collection of songs that range from cathartic and heavy thrashing guitars and vocals, to upbeat and catchy emo-inspired hooks, to ambient soundscapes all around the thesis: We want a better world, and We Can Have It.  While songs explore the challenges we face at the societal level as well as interpersonally, listeners are left feeling a sense of hope and empowerment for the future.   This album pays homage to queer musicians and activists of the past who demonstrated the power of hope, rage, and joy in the struggle for queer liberation.  During a time in the US and the world that queer rights and futures are under attack, Pinksqueeze releases this album to acknowledge the challenges we face,  and rally our community and allies in joy and connection to take control of our future and shape the world we want to live in.  The album features songs written individually by each member of the band, as well as songs collaboratively written by all four members, and featuring lead and supporting vocals by all four members.  Pinksqueeze releases We Can Have It in memory of Simon Small (also known as Tunnel of Reverb), whose incredible work as sound engineer and producer deeply shaped this album.

Pinksqueeze will tour throughout the US in 2026 and 2027 in promotion of the release of We Can Have It with multiple music video releases to accompany single releases leading up to full album release, and will play a headlining album release show at Chicago’s Lincoln Hall on 12/12.

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