Phoebe Bridgers Debuts New Music at First Show in Three Years

Phoebe Bridgers played her first solo show in three years on Friday night at The Liberty in Roswell, New Mexico. And if reports are to be believed, the singer’s next album/creative era could truly be out of this world.

The intimate, 13-song set at the 400-capacity venue served as Bridgers’ first solo performance since May 2023 when she opened for Taylor Swift at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium. According to posts from several attendees, Bridgers described the evening (which strictly forbid all recording devices) as a “test” for her third album (and follow-up to 2020’s excellent Punisher).

In addition to hits like “Motion Sickness” and “Kyoto,” Bridgers debuted three to four new songs. One attendee described the new music, which included one track tentatively-titled “This is Gonna Kill Me,” as “very sad folk.” Harmonica arrangements were also featured prominently across the new music, provided by Christian Lee Hutson, who served as part of Bridgers’ band.

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Reddit user BSismyname said that the “new songs sounded f**king great and also very sad.” They also mentioned that at least one song might be about Bridgers’ much-publicized relationship with Bo Burnham, and another number detailed the death of her father from just a couple years ago. The Burnham song supposedly also made lyrical references to watching movies on the couch (Bridgers is set to make her acting debut this fall in the A24 crime drama Primetime alongside Robert Pattinson).

Musically speaking, though, one of the biggest takeaways was less to do with the song’s respective subject matter and more to do with Bridgers’ performance. The phoebe daily X/Twitter account reported that during the show, Bridgers “experimented with new vocal techniques.” In further describing those same techniques, BSismyname said that Bridgers was “more ‘on her voice,’” and that she sounded “less breathy and with more power.” However, BSismyname said that the largest difference is the overall “atmosphere” facilitated by this new smattering of music.

The word “atmosphere” also carried some extra weight given everything surrounding the show. The venue was decorated with neon-colored alien imagery, including a large banner/mural on the stage. Several pieces of merch also featured similar alien imagery and iconography, and there was at least one song with even more celestial references (“Now I can’t see any stars in the sky/When a dream comes true, a fantasy dies”). And if aliens/space aren’t a theme, why else would Bridgers return at a venue in Roswell, New Mexico?

While there wasn’t any official word on an album title or a release date for this new music, many attendees did leave with one special gift. Those who chose to store their phones in Yondr pouches at the show were gifted a card that could be “combined to make up the artwork for Bridgers’ next release” ( either a single or the album proper). Similar imagery depicted on the cards were also featured on certain pieces of merch.

Part of the reason for Bridgers’ solo “absence” was her work with boygenius (her indie supergroup with Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus). After debuting in 2018, and then undergoing a hiatus, the trio spent much of 2023 touring and promoting The Record. Boygenius, however, then returned to the shelves with their indefinite hiatus in October 2023.

Below, check out the full setlist and some accompanying photos of the merch and puzzle pieces. In the meantime, keep watching the heavens and stay tuned for more announcements as they come.

Phoebe Bridgers at The Liberty on May 8th Setlist:
Motion Sickness
Garden Song
Kyoto
Moon Song
Funeral
“Chinese Satellite
**Four New Songs**
Scott Street
Graceland Too
I Know The End