NBC / NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Phoebe Bridges, Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus are the Boys of boygenius.
NBC / NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via
Phoebe Bridges, Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus are the Boys of boygenius.
MUSIC – Don’t be fooled by their stage name, there are no “boys” in boygenius. The American alternative rock band is an all-female trio consisting of Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus. Since its formation in 2018, the girl band has gone on tour, released an EP then a first studio album and has now achieved recognition with six nominations for the 2024 Grammys (as many as Taylor Swift or Billie Eilish).
At the 66th ceremony taking place on Sunday, February 5, boygenius could win the coveted Grammy Award for Album of the Year for the record or even that of recording of the year for their single Not Strong Enough. The latter is also in competition against songs from the Rolling Stones and Foo Fighters for the prize for best rock song.
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In France, even if Phoebe Bridgers’ solo career is better known than the group she formed with Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus, boygenius’ only concert at Rock en Seine in August 2023 moved the crowds.
The Boys : Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker et Lucy Dacus
boygenius is above all a story of friendship and sisterhood. Before collaborating, the three artists each had successful music careers and followed each other’s work. When Lucy Dacus and Phoebe Bridgers were booked to open for Julien Baker’s tour in 2018, magic happened. While they had planned to record one song together, they did six and the group was born.
In addition to their passion for music, they share the same experience: being a woman in the male-dominated rock and indie scene. The name boygenius (which could be translated as “little genius” in the masculine form in French) is a snub to men who are too sure of themselves, convinced that all their ideas are brilliant. Between them, they call themselves “the Boys”.
But the girls of boygenius do not want to be reduced to a female group, as they often repeat in interviews. “People ask questions about being a woman in rock all the time. Many people are women! The fact that this is remarkable is insulting”recalled Lucy Dacus in an interview with GQ in 2018.
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In January 2023, they made the cover of Rolling Stone American in a suit and tie, recreating the iconic one of Nirvana in 1994. As if to show that when you make good music, the genre doesn’t matter.
“the record”, the most comforting album of the year
Even though they are constantly compared and placed in the same box, the three members have very separate voices and musical identities. Lucy Dacus tends more towards folk, with melancholic ballads, while Julien Baker is more influenced by punk, and Phoebe Bridgers especially identified for her poetic lyrics.
In the group’s songs, we can easily recognize which of the three is hidden behind each verse. But their strength, and their main common point, is to make very intimate music, which reflects the doubts and fears of women under 30 today.
Their album the record can be listened to like therapy between friends, full of emotion. The themes of mental health, anxiety, but also the importance of friendship and growing up and learning about yourself, are enhanced by their music.
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boygenius, a voice for the queer community
With three openly queer artists, boygenius is also touched by its activism for the LGBTQ+ community, in concert and in interviews. In June 2023, they took to the stage as drag queens in Tennessee, to oppose proposed legislation to ban minors from drag shows and gender-sensitive health care.
But they also don’t want to be defined by the queer label and dream of a world where the representation of the LGBTQ+ community would no longer be a subject. Asked about this by BillboardJulien Baker was delighted that boygenius was one of the many queer artists nominated for the Grammys: “If there are enough people fitting this category, it would cease to be a novelty”she explained.
But Lucy Darcus added “it would also be super cool if queer people were treated as people and their rights were respected”. Perhaps one day, the girls of boygenius will only have to talk about music. And nothing but music.