When Boygenius came together for their self-titled EP in 2018, the indie rock world went wild. Lucy Dacus, Julien Baker, and Phoebe Bridgers were climbing towards an individual peak in their careers and their music together was equally sublime. They embarked on an ambitious tour where each artist played their own set, followed by the Boygenius revue at venues that even touched the 3,000-person capacity. But the group has been on the back burner lately, as each artist as worked on their own brilliant solo albums: Little Oblivions for Baker, Home Video for Dacus (who appeared on Fallon last night), and the Grammy-nominated Punisher for Bridgers.
Now, for the first time since 2018, the trio are reuniting for a concert together and it’s a special benefit show. Taking place on November 19th in San Francisco, Boygenius will be headlining the Bread & Roses Presents Fall Benefit Concert held at the St. Joseph’s Arts Society. Bread & Roses is a storied organization — started by Joan Baez’s late sister, Mimi Fariña, in the 1970’s — that brings live music and entertainment to kids, teens, adults, and seniors in institutional settings who wouldn’t otherwise be able to experience the arts. They work with people in settings like hospitals, drug and alcohol recovery centers, mental institutions, hospice care centers, special needs schools, shelters for the abused or homeless, and a lot more. Artists like Carlos Santana, Bonnie Raitt, Taj Mahal and Lily Tomlin have all been a part of Bread & Roses functions in the past and now Boygenius (along with opener Allison Russell) joins their ranks for the already sold-out show.
On her solo tours, Dacus notably raises money at each stop for a charitable organization local to that city, or she’d pick an organization in her native Richmond, Virginia — like Art180, an art therapy-based organization — that the whole tour would benefit. Last holiday season, Bridgers donated the proceeds from a Merle Haggard cover she recorded to the Downtown Women’s Center. Each of the three artists also focused a lot of their efforts on raising money for charity through a broad range of benefit livestreams during lockdown. It’s safe to say their spirit of giving back is strong.
You can donate to Bread & Roses Presents if you’re able to do so here.
