Chantal Anderson

Boygenius took over the indie music scene in 2023

The band Boygenius, consisting of Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers, and Lucy Dacus have made a big mark on the indie music scene in the past year. In 2023, they released their first album called “The Record,” went on a worldwide tour, and released an Extended Play (EP) called “The Rest.” Boygenius has almost 600 million Spotify streams, which went up drastically after “The Record” came out.
The band started in 2018 when Bridgers and Dacus were opening for Baker’s tour. Baker thought that the two would really like each other and their own respective music, and they definitely did. So much so that they started to work as a trio in writing music and songs. They wrote their first EP together back in October of 2018, which was self-titled and included six songs. Due to the love fans had for each of the artists’ own music, they quickly fell in love with this EP. It became very popular amongst indie music listeners, but the artists had their own careers to follow up with, and Boygenuis was put on hold.
Even when they were not in a band together they were still supporting each other in their music. Baker and Dacus provided backup vocals for Bridgers’s song “Graceland Too” from her 2020 album “Punisher.” This was then followed up by Baker releasing her song “Favor” from her album “Little Oblivious.” The song included backing vocals from Bridgers and Dacus back in February of 2021. The trilogy of Boygenius secret songs was concluded by Dacus when she released “Please Stay” from her 2021 album “Home Video” that contained Baker and Bridgers backing vocals. These collaborations were only the beginning to Boygenius’s stardom though. Sophomore Lila Howington said “I think they have all grown a lot as artists, gaining popularity and building a bigger name both as a band and individually.”
Back in the end of 2022 and early 2023 there were videos going viral of the three members posing for a photoshoot outside together. Rumors speculated that they might be making more music or working together again but nothing was confirmed until the official Boygenius account on instagram posted. On January 18, 2023 a photo of the new album cover, which consists of the three members’ hands, said “The record is out March 31st and three songs are out now.” This made Boygenius, Bridgers, Baker, and Dacus fans go crazy. These songs were “$20,” “Emily I’m Sorry,” and “True Blue.” Each one of these songs had a different group member doing the lead vocals which really draws back to the fact they are a supergroup of individually talented musicians. Just the next day the fans understood why they were seen doing a photoshoot. It was because they were going to be on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. In their album cover they are recreating the famous Rolling Stone cover by the band Nirvana.
On March 1 of 2023, not long before “The Record” was set to come out, the band released one last single titled “Not Strong Enough” to build up anticipation. Just days before their album came out they released the dates and places they would be going on their world tour. This tour even included a date in Wilmington, N.C. When their album came out it also came with a short movie called “The Film” which starred all of them and was directed by Kristen Stewart. The album did great on streaming platforms, and they were very proud of their achievements. Junior Sarah Tanner said “When ‘The Record’ came out, I knew from my first listen that this album would leave its mark! From the songs such as “Cool About It” to “Letter To An Old Poet,” this album was unlike any other that I’ve heard.”
Later in May, before their tour started, Bridgers was opening for Taylor Swift on her Eras Tour in Nashville when she brought out “her boys” and they sang their songs “Not Strong Enough” and “Cool About It.” This exposed Taylor Swift fans to new music they might be into and gained Boygenius more popularity. Their tour lasted from June to October which included a date at Madison Square Garden in New York City. This meant alot to them because they went from a small, underground band to a band playing at Madison Square Garden. Howington also said “…they have grown so much and worked so hard to bring more attention to their name. Their new album has gained a lot of popularity through existing fans, as well as social media platforms”
On September 25 2023 they announced their new EP on Instagram called “The Rest” which they said would be out on October 13 of that year and included 4 songs. Before the release, at some of their shows they would play one of the new songs for their fans to tease the EP. When “The Rest” finally came out it did very well with Boygenius fans and concluded their new music for the year.
Due to the rising popularity of this supergroup they were invited to be musical guests on SNL. They starred alongside Timothee Chalamet on November 11. Not only did they perform their songs “Not Strong Enough” and “Satanist,” they also made guest appearances in a skit with Chalamet.
Boygenius currently has 5.2 million monthly listeners on Spotify and is nominated for 6 grammys. Tanner also said, “Boygenius is in a way the same for teenage girls around the world as bands like “Nirvana” or “Radiohead” were for teenagers in the 90’s. Boygenius is the strong female supergroup that we have been in need of in the 2010’s.” Throughout all of 2023 it’s clear that Boygenius has strived to make music they are proud of and give back to their community of fans who have loved them since they first started singing together.