Boygenius is ready to take a break after a record year.
Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus performed two secret acoustic shows in Los Angeles on Thursday, February 1, as they gear up for the 66th annual Grammy Awards, where they’re nominated in seven categories. According to a fan account on X, the trio hinted during one of the performances that they’ll be “going away for the foreseeable future.”
When Dacus, 28, introduced the “last song” of the night, the audience let out a disappointed groan. “Not ever!” Baker, also 28, insisted.
The idea of a Boygenius hiatus sent some social media users into a frenzy. “Kinda early for April fools day, but ok,” read one X reply, while another fan added, “Don’t lie.”
A third user, however, shared a more hopeful reaction, teasing, “The boys must leave, every so often, in order to fulfill the prophecy. For without their absence we would not be able to appreciate their return to town.”
Baker, Dacus and Bridgers, 29, have not addressed their comments further, but they each have successful solo careers outside of Boygenius. They released their first EP as a group in 2018, taking a substantial break before dropping a full-length album titled The Record in 2023. (All three of the musicians released solo albums during their time away from the band.)
Boygenius spent a large part of last year on the road, wrapping up their tour at the Hollywood Bowl in October 2023. In a recent New York Times profile, Baker opened up about the creative freedom that comes along with the friends’ collaborative effort.
“In this band I get a license to live into parts of myself I’m curious about,” Baker said. “We choose our most ideal versions of ourselves. And then the kids are dressing up as the persona that we’ve constructed — because they recognize something of their own in that.”
The trio have formed an even deeper bond since they first crossed paths in their early 20s. “The boys are really good at community,” Bridgers noted, referring to her bandmates. “I’m more insular. I mean, I have community for sure. But the boys have had, like, more roommates in their lives. So I learned a lot from them. Like, how to come into the front lounge of the bus and be like, ‘I got this really stressful text last night!’ And just talk it out. It’s the best.”
Bridgers previously attended the 2021 Grammys when she was nominated for Best New Artist following the release of her album Punisher. (She earned a total of four nods that year but left the ceremony empty-handed.) The songwriter recently told ABC News that gaining recognition from the Recording Academy alongside Baker and Dacus “means a lot.”
“Part of what feels good to me is that I didn’t grow up thinking this was possible,” Dacus chimed in. “So, it feels cool to see the inside of something that I never thought that I would.”
Baker noted that traditional awards opportunities can be “a big double-edged sword,” adding, “It’s either buying into the values of the music biz or we’re only successful to and for each other. It’s nice to see that it translated on a tangible scale.”
The 2024 Grammys air on CBS Sunday, February 4, at 8 p.m. ET.
