Julien Baker

A Memphis, Tennessee-based singer/songwriter with a knack for finding the shaky ground between heart-wrenching and cathartic, Julien Baker's stark and soulful music evokes names like <a href="spotify:artist:4LEiUm1SRbFMgfqnQTwUbQ">Bon Iver</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:46CitWgnWrvF9t70C2p1Me">Daughter</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:0EmUT6i9rTu9ZHy1Tl1iuX">Natalie Prass</a>. Noted for its personal lyrics and vulnerable delivery, her first album, Sprained Ankle, was released in 2015. She continued to draw critical acclaim as one-third of <a href="spotify:artist:1hLiboQ98IQWhpKeP9vRFw">Boygenius</a>, a group she formed with <a href="spotify:artist:07D1Bjaof0NFlU32KXiqUP">Lucy Dacus</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:1r1uxoy19fzMxunt3ONAkG">Phoebe Bridgers</a> in 2018. In the meantime, her solo material gradually expanded arrangements from spare piano and guitar to add keyboards, a rhythm section, and more by her third album, 2021's Top 40-charting Little Oblivions. Her first appearance in the Top Five of the Billboard 200 came with <a href="spotify:artist:1hLiboQ98IQWhpKeP9vRFw">Boygenius</a>' 2023 debut album, The Record, but projects like 2025's Send a Prayer My Way -- a collection of queer country songs with <a href="spotify:artist:3lrDYjsghBMfUTiLziD9q9">Torres</a> -- proved Baker was still dedicated to creative, authentic music as her star rose.

Baker honed her music skills while playing in her high school band, Forrister, with whom she continued to perform while attending college. After writing a batch of songs that didn't seem to fit the group's more rock-oriented vibe, Baker headed to <a href="spotify:artist:58mMrwemoGIcDpvfHe46u4">Matthew E. White</a>'s Spacebomb Studios in Richmond, Virginia, to begin recording what would eventually become her solo debut, 2015's Sprained Ankle. Issued by <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%226131+Records%22">6131 Records</a>, it reached number 23 on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart and led to an invitation to join the <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Matador+Records%22">Matador Records</a> roster. With a more expansive sound and equally intimate lyrics, the self-produced follow-up, 2017's Turn Out the Lights, was recorded at Ardent Studios in Memphis. It landed on the Billboard 200, peaking at number 78.

Baker then joined fellow indie singer/songwriters <a href="spotify:artist:1r1uxoy19fzMxunt3ONAkG">Phoebe Bridgers</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:07D1Bjaof0NFlU32KXiqUP">Lucy Dacus</a> in the trio <a href="spotify:artist:1hLiboQ98IQWhpKeP9vRFw">Boygenius</a>. Together they issued their eponymous EP in late 2018, also on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Matador%22">Matador</a>. <a href="spotify:artist:1r1uxoy19fzMxunt3ONAkG">Bridgers</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:07D1Bjaof0NFlU32KXiqUP">Dacus</a> appeared on a track, "Favor," from Baker's third solo set, 2021's Little Oblivions. Self-produced and recorded in Memphis, it further expanded her instrumentation, with Baker covering most of the performances herself. The album cracked the Top 40 of the Billboard 200 and reached number six on the Top Independent Albums chart. A companion EP, B-Sides, arrived in July 2022, and Baker rejoined <a href="spotify:artist:1hLiboQ98IQWhpKeP9vRFw">Boygenius</a> for their full-length debut, The Record. Written both separately and together, it showcased a unified front, with the three songwriters' voices meshing to create a hefty, hooky, and slightly bittersweet album. Released on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Interscope%22">Interscope</a> in March 2023, it went as high as number four on the Billboard 200 while charting internationally, including topping the charts in the U.K., Ireland, and the Netherlands. They followed it up with a folkier four-song EP titled the rest that October. In the meantime, <a href="spotify:artist:1hLiboQ98IQWhpKeP9vRFw">Boygenius</a>' escalating popularity was reflected in a tour that included a sold-out show at Madison Square Garden.

In 2024, Baker embarked on a solo tour that included a residency at New York City's Webster Hall. On the first night of that residency, she previewed her collaboration with like-minded singer/songwriter <a href="spotify:artist:3lrDYjsghBMfUTiLziD9q9">Torres</a>, and the pair went on to play the songs they'd written together at festival dates and on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. The pair's first single, "Sugar in the Tank," arrived that December, with "Sylvia" following a month later. Both tracks appeared on Julien Baker & <a href="spotify:artist:3lrDYjsghBMfUTiLziD9q9">Torres</a>' April 2025 debut album, Send a Prayer My Way, a set of country songs with a queer perspective that celebrated the music the duo grew up with while living in the South. ~ James Christopher Monger, Rovi