boygenius: the tour

If you’re no new visitor to heartbreak, alternative-indie dream collection and supergroup boygenius is probably a comforting muse you hold close. Formed in 2018 by Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers, and Lucy Dacu, the trio was essentially an epic proportion of random encounter. Individually, the members are uniquely talented artists; Baker, Bridgers, and Dacus all became friends on their own separate musical journeys. All three have their own robust careers, but when they come together, it’s like the indie-rock equivalent of putting peanut butter with jelly – a match that’s just made for each other. As solo artists, each inspires a level of devotion that is a voice of a generation. They are queer-identifying, unapologetically vocal about social constructs of women’s rights, transgender rights, abortion rights, and everything in between – advocating for the right to be oneself in all one’s humanity. Their songwriting, methodically tied introspectively with intelligence, has handed each of them the peculiar charge of articulating the feelings of a generation. They each stood tall as songwriters with the ability to plumb the depth of human emotion borders and utilize exhaustive honesty and vulnerability as points of connection with their audience.

boygenius bloomed into the world in 2018, and the intensity of adoration has only magnified since then. The group was formed in an attempt to record a single promotional single. They took that plan into the studio and emerged with a six-song self-titled E.P., the first fruits of a blossoming friendship. There is no discernible frontwoman; the singers trade verses and then come together at unexpected moments to harmonize. None of these songs are anthemic, but they exude a spirit of unity that tempers their usual reserved sensibilities. boygenius can be best understood as a natural outgrowth of countervailing cultural forces. As evident on their studio pieces, the trio was made to be heard. Individually, each musician has a vibrant but soft-spoken talent. Lyrics that are interpersonal and woven through an intimate crowd, but together, there seems to be a sense of release. Their songs bellow through amphitheaters, lyrical ingenious over woozy wall-of-sound electric guitar, songs strewn with penetrating bits of confrontation that nod toward justice; telling stories of the balance between resilience and heartache, unfolding the relationship of everlasting friendship that is boygenius.