American singer Julien Baker is in London performing five concerts at Hackney’s iconic music venue Earth Hall. The artist had first announced only three shows which however had to almost be multiplied due to the extreme demand.
The Hackney shows are the only dates set in Europe for Baker’s tour, which has taken her around the United States and Canada; the tour will be ending with these British stops, only to resume in April of next year where Baker will begin playing summer festivals, so far announced only in the US.
Baker had previously toured around the UK and Europe, playing many smaller cities around various countries, in her 2021 and 2022 tour. She has played in the UK London, Leeds, Glasgow and Dublin. Baker didn’t comment on why she chose to play multiple nights in London rather than travelling across the country; surely however this decision didn’t bother fans who still managed to sell out every single UK show set for this tour.
Baker is an indie artist whose rise to fame happened in relation to the super group Boygenius, of which she is part along with Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus. Baker only has one album recognized in the UK charts: “Little Oblivions” released 2021 peaked at 51 in the UK. But Baker has a big fan-base in the UK. Last year, along with Boygenius, she headlined Gunnersbury Park in London, played two sold-out nights at iconic Piece Hall in Halifax and headlined Connect Festival in Edinburgh.
With Boygenius, on the other hand, Baker does have a UK number one: their album “The Record” released in 2023.
Over social media, fans have discussed Baker’s setlist which appears to be changing for every show. Back in the United States, Baker had invited some musician friends to join her on stage, for example Lucy Dacus. In the UK, however, little is known about the shows besides the fact that they are fully sold-out. She previously sang fan-favourite songs such as “Appointments”, “Hardline” and “Everybody Does”.
Baker released her debut album in 2015 while she was a student in Tennessee, her home state. After the album, titled “Sprained Ankle” received good critical acclaim, Baker went on to release “Turn Out the Lights” in 2017 and “Little Oblivions” in 2021. Her music resonates with fans for its softness and confession-like lyricism. Some of her songs, such as “Sprained Ankle” and “Hardline” have gone viral on TikTok in the past few years, gaining Baker more recognition. But her loyal fan-base is more mesmerised by Baker’s extraordinary lyricism and ability to describe with such understanding depth emotions, feelings and the journey of each human being.
Tonight and tomorrow are the last two dates on Baker’s UK tour, but it’s likely that the American singer will announce more dates to take place next summer.
