boygenius, a band comprised of Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker, and Lucy Dacus, had a huge breakout year. The band, known by their fans as “the boys,” shot for the moon. From their return to performing at Coachella to the release of their debut album, all the way up to their Saturday Night Live (SNL) performance, 2023 has undoubtedly launched them into the limelight. As a massive fan of their self-titled debut EP in 2018, as well as their respective solo works, their return was more than exciting. In case you missed it, here’s a quick recap of the biggest and best things boygenius was up to this year.
Music
This year, boygenius released three projects, though I will only discuss a couple of them. This included their debut album titled the record. It was first announced in January and initially released on Mar. 31. With 12 tracks and zero features, the album went to number one on the alternative charts. the record includes their song, “Not Strong Enough,” which has been nominated for three Grammys. The boys landed seven nominations this year, including Album Of The Year (the record), Record Of The Year (“Not Strong Enough”), Best Rock Performance (“Not Strong Enough”), Best Rock Song (“Not Strong Enough”), Best Alternative Music Performance (“Cool About It”), Best Alternative Music Album (the record), and Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical (the record). As an extension of the record, the rest was a four-track EP released on Oct. 13. (If you are interested in my review of the rest, you can check it out here.) Seeing “Not Strong Enough” at the top of my Spotify Wrapped was not surprising, as a proud fangirl. One of, if not my favorite, songs they released this year (it’s so hard to pick just one!) would have to be “Leonard Cohen.” Themes of love, friendship, and finding comfort in the people you surround yourself with is written all over their music. It reminds me of hometown friends I don’t see as often as I did before starting college, and it has a nostalgic feeling that exhibits all of the beautiful parts of love.
Performances
In 2023, boygenius hit the road! Having returned to touring for the first time since 2018, there is no better way to reappear than playing Coachella. They even had a billboard reading “Not Strong Enough?” with boygenius dressed as lawyers, mocking law firm marketing. Dacus described their thought process in an interview with KROQ, claiming, “The original idea was dentistry, because of the teeth tattoos that we have,” with a rebuttal from Baker: “And then we were like, ‘But what if it was like Better Call Saul?’ Like sleazy.” In June, they embarked on a 25-city-long tour with Re:SET Concert Series, which included some artists like Bartees Strange, Dijon, Clairo, and boygenius. I had the immense pleasure of seeing the show in Boston on Father’s Day (sorry, Dad!) and had a fantastic time. After taking a break for the month of July, they took the show across the pond in August for 13 European shows with openers MUNA and Ethel Cain, but that still wasn’t enough. One last hurrah included five more shows on the East Coast, including Madison Square Garden (MSG), before closing out the tour at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles on Halloween. boygenius aptly dressed as “The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit,” with their band dressed as angels (a spoof on a lyric from “Not Strong Enough,” “Always an angel, never a god”). They even had Dave Grohl of The Foo Fighters play drums for “Satanist.” Other notable performances of 2023 include The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, BBC Radio 6, they joined Bridgers and The 1975’s Matty Healy on stage while opening for Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour, and most recently, performing as the musical guest for Timotheé Chalamet’s second SNL episode. They brought out Hozier in Boston, and were guests of Billie Eilish in London. Attending the MSG show changed my life and expanded my love for the band more than I knew was possible. Their electric yet playful stage presence is what sets them apart from other touring artists right now. In my opinion, no one is putting on a show as intimate as a boygenius show, no matter the venue capacity they sell out.
Music Videos
boygenius released five music videos this year. the film, directed by Academy Award nominee Kristen Stewart, is a combination of three music videos for “$20,” “Emily I’m Sorry,” and “True Blue.” The three videos are woven within each other through references to other songs, including Chevy trucks on cinder blocks (“$20”), blue paint-splattered clothing (“True Blue”), matching scars (“We’re in Love”), and more. The ending frames of “Emily I’m Sorry” give me chills every time, proving that the film is nothing short of captivating and a charming reflection of the music. The “Cool About It” video, directed by Lauren Tsai, is an animated and complexly symbolic depiction of the relationship between a girl and her dog. Lastly, the “Not Strong Enough” video was entirely shot by boygenius. It displays a day they spent at a carnival, ferris wheel and all. It contrasts the other videos, having been filmed by the band themselves, and the bright, exciting colors of the carnival. If they were to make another music video this year, I would love to see how they choose to represent their song “Satanist” in visual media.
Magazines, Interviews, and More
Between magazines and video interviews, boygenius did 15 projects together. I love to see how their creativity thrives outside of music, like dressing as cowboys recreating shots from Brokeback Mountain for Alternative Press Magazine, or full Victorian-era glam for the Los Angeles Times. They broke down lyrics for Genius and were interviewed by Nardwuar. The first magazine they did this year was Rolling Stone in January. They recreated a 1994 Nirvana cover, with Dacus behind the scenes stating, “I like how there’s sort of a raw element to everything that they made, and I feel like we definitely try to maintain a level of imperfection,” adding, “Also, Julien looks like Dave Grohl.” Personally, I love nothing more than a comfort video, and the band’s interviews with Zane Lowe for Apple Music are some of my favorite videos to rewatch at any time.
Arguably one of the most iconic things boygenius did this year was dress in drag for their show in Nashville, TN. In honor of pride month, after Tennessee’s governor, Bill Lee, banned public drag performances, they embraced new personas: Lucille Balls (Dacus), Shanita Tums (Baker), and Queef Urban (Bridgers). “I’ve found that I have a lot of anger for people who have made me feel small and have made me feel erased. And I’ve found…a really powerful and humiliating tool for making those people f*ck off. I would like you to scream so loud that Gov. Bill Lee can hear you,” exclaimed Baker in an act of defiance and support of the LGBTQ+ community, followed by a “F*ck Bill Lee” chant started by the crowd.
There are no risks when it comes to boygenius. Their ingenuity, mixed with their commitment to their craft, as well as each other, always lands them on their feet, and I can’t wait to see what they have in store for 2024.