Lambrini Girls have canceled their upcoming gig at Coachella 2026 as guitarist and lead vocalist Phoebe Lunny is suffering from an “acute brain injury.” On April 8, the band shared a statement regarding the same on their official Instagram page:
“We have to pull out of Coachella and reschedule our whole American headline tour. Long story short: I fractured my neck and have an acute brain injury. TLDR: Happened in Australia, misdiagnosed, late treatment. Doctors’ orders are I can’t fly or perform for 6 weeks. All UK/ EU shows are still going ahead late May onwards.”
A list of rescheduled headline U.S. tour dates from June and September was also given. The post showed Phobe Lunny posing in her underwear and hospital gown as she stood behind a curtain, with heartbreak symbols all around. The message continued:
“We have received quite a lot of messages re Coachella; we are so gutted, guys. We want to be there so badly. If it was a broken leg, I would do a Dave Grohl and play it. This isn’t something we are taking lightly and we are really sad. We hope and pray there’s some universe we get to play next year instead.”
Phoebe Lunny explained that because she is hurt in her neck and brain, her hands are tied. However, she is hopeful of a full and speedy recovery. She concluded by thanking the fans for showing up for Lambrini Girls over the years.
Phoebe Lunny: Life, career, and more
According to the March 2025 exclusive Daily Mail cover on Lambrini Girls, Phoebe Lunny was born and raised in Hove, East Sussex, England. The 28-year-old still shares a flat with her mother, Louise Ward, 62. Her father, Oisin Lunny, 54, is an award-winning marketer, podcast and webinar host, emcee, public speaker, writer, UX business professor, and virtual event consultant. Oisin was the son of Irish folk musician and record producer Donal Lunny.
According to Phoebe Lunny’s Instagram, she uses the pronouns she/ they. Lunny is a lesbian and has ADHD. She formed the English punk rock band in Brighton in 2019 with vocalist Flora Kimberly, drummer Catt Jack, and bassist Fox O’Reilly. The group’s name was taken from Lambrini, the British light and fruity perry brand.
For the first two years, Lambrini Girls underwent a lot of changes. Kimberly left, and Lunny took up the role of the lead vocalist while continuing to be the guitarist. Bassist Lilly Macieira joined when O’Reilly couldn’t make it to a show in late October.
Turns out, Phoebe and Lilly already knew each other from working at the same bar in 2018 and were co-members of the “six-piece, three-chord punk band” Wife Swap USA. Phoebe Lunny later told Paste Magazine in January 2025:
“[Wife Swap USA] was very fun, Lambrini Girls started doing a bit better. And there were multiple lineup changes, but basically we needed a new bassist, and asked Lilly, because we very much had the same work ethic as each other, and just got to be best pals.”
Their debut single, Homewrecker, came out in 2021, following which they signed to the Big Scary Monsters label.
However, the breakthrough came when a band dropped out at the last minute and Lambrini Girls filled in at the 2022 Great Escape Festival in Brighton.
The extended play, You’re Welcome, released in May 2023, comprises the songs Help Me I’m Gay, White Van, Boys in the Band, and Lads Lads Lads. Meanwhile, Jack left the band.
Throughout 2023, Phoebe Lunny and her two existing bandmates sparked controversy for their support of gender-affirming care for the trans community.
In February 2024, the group released God’s Country, a song that criticized far-right British politics. A year later, Lambrini Girls received a portion of £1.6 million given to 58 artists as part of the Music Export Growth Scheme.
This triggered a controversy with many asking why they received taxpayers’ money when their music was often “anti-national.” However, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media, and Sport, Lisa Nandy, called Lambrini Girls “the best of British culture and creativity.”
Likewise, Phoebe Lunny defended themselves by saying they had the right to “free speech.” The band’s IG page further issued a statement that they received the funds because they are “f**king sick, that’s why.” The post continued:
“Rather than complaining about a government program meant to support artists, direct your frustration towards the government’s plans to cut welfare, which will push the most vulnerable into poverty.”
Last year, Lambrini Girls released the studio album, Who Let the Dogs Out, which has hit singles like Filthy Rich Nepo Baby, Body of Mine, Company Culture, Big D**k Energy, and Love.
About the kind of music she and Lilly Macieira do, Phoebe Lunny told Paste Magazine:
“Every song sounds like the first time you fell off your bike as a child.”
About their debut album, she explained:
“A lot of it was just kind of sh*tting it out in the moment, out of pure panic. But we did it, and it was good. We work well under pressure, and I think sometimes… Yeah, we don’t really work unless we have to. But I think when you’re out of your comfort zone is when you write the best stuff as well. So, I’m really proud of what we did.”
In December 2025, Phoebe Lunny spoke with Kerrang and summarized how 2025 was for her and her band:
“It’s been really exciting. We haven’t stopped… It’s been amazing, exciting, but it’s also it’s really hard to understand how exciting and intense and fun and sick it’s been until you look back in retrospection and you go, ‘Oh, f**k, I’ve done that.’ Once this tour’s ended, I can look back and actually be proud of the year, but until then, I’m just like, ‘Sh*t, gotta keep going!’”
Phoebe Lunny also mentioned spending the majority of the year doing photo shoots, music videos, and tours. She jokingly added:
“Maybe when I’m 75 and we finally stop touring, I can look back and see we did alright, but until then, it’s go, go, go.”
Lambrini Girls was due to perform at Coachella on April 11. Following their cancellation, rocker and 2015 headliner Jack White was included in the line-up for a “surprise set” at the Mojave Tent in Southern California.
Edited by Pallavi K