Phoebe Bridgers
Phoebe Bridgers Hits Back at Guitar-Smashing Critics: ‘Next Time I’ll Just Burn It’
At the end of Phoebe Bridgers’ Saturday Night Live performance on Feb. 6, the singer/songwriter clad smashed her guitar. She did it during the culminating, cathartic end of “I Know the End,” the closer to her beloved sophomore effort Punisher. This, for whatever reason, sparked a ridiculous discourse online about smashing guitars—whether it’s privileged to do so, whether it’s corny to do so, etc. On Monday, Bridgers hit back the critics. In an Instagram post of her swinging the guitar, Bridgers included the amazing caption: “got some really great feedback from my performance ! next time I’ll just burn it and it will be more expensive.” In the end, Bridgers didn’t do much damage to the instrument. In a response to Jason Isbell tweeting in defense of her, Bridgers replied: “I told...
Phoebe Bridgers Performs ‘Kyoto’ and ‘I Know the End,’ Smashes Guitar in SNL Debut
The string of Saturday Night Live debuts continued last night, when Phoebe Bridgers took the stage of the Dan Levy-hosted episode. Decked out her trademark skeleton onesie, Bridgers performed “Kyoto” and “I Know the End,” both her latest album Punisher, which was released last June. At the end of the “I Know the End,” Bridgers smashed her guitar on the stage monitor and literal sparks flew while doing so. Watch the performances below. [embedded content] [embedded content] Bridgers had quite the impressive year in 2020. Aside from releasing one of the best albums (and best song) of the year, she also launched her own record label, Saddest Factory, in partnership with her current label Dead Oceans. “One of my favorite things about this time is that everybody is liste...
Machine Gun Kelly, Phoebe Bridgers and Nathaniel Rateliff to Perform on First SNL Episodes of 2021
Saturday Night Live will return to the air on Jan. 30 with a stellar group of musicians heading to 30 Rock. Machine Gun Kelly will perform for the first time on the show that will be hosted by fellow first-timer, John Krasinski. Phoebe Bridgers and Nathaniel Rateliff will also be making their SNL debuts on Feb. 6 and 13, respectively. The hosts will be Schitt’s Creek star and co-creator Dan Levy and Regina King. NBC announced that SNL will also have shows on Feb. 20 and 27, but didn’t reveal who the hosts and musical guests would be at this time. Last year, Machine Gun Kelly was featured on our November cover. You can read that here. Bridgers, meanwhile, appeared on both our best songs and best albums of 2020 lists. Saturday Night Live is in the midd...
Eddie Vedder, Phoebe Bridgers, Brittany Howard and More to Play Annual Tibet House US Benefit Concert
The 34th Annual Tibet House US Benefit Concert announced this year’s lineup, and it includes Eddie Vedder, Phoebe Bridgers, Brittany Howard, Valerie June, Angélique Kidjo, Laurie Anderson, Tenzin Choegyal, and Rubin Kodheli. The event will take place virtually—instead of its usual venue of Carnegie Hall—on Feb. 17 and will begin with a personal message from His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. Tickets are on sale, ranging from $25 to $50, and unique sponsor level cyber-tables start at $5,000. Information on all available packages is here. It will be streaming via Mandolin, a livestream site that has been aiding artists in the difficult task of connecting with fans during the pandemic. Some past participants of Tibet House US Benefit Concert include Alabama Shakes, Patti Smith, Carly Simo...
Billie Eilish, Beastie Boys, Wilco, Phoebe Bridgers and More Customize Coolers for Charity
The Beastie Boys, Billie Eilish, Wilco and more have customized a bunch of Yeti coolers for a charity auction benefitting out-of-work touring and venue crews. Bidding is now open, with the opening bid for the Eilish cooler starting at $225; Phoebe Bridgers’ decorated cooler at $300 and the Beasties’ starting at $700. All proceeds from Yeti’s One for the Roadies campaign go to Crew Nation, a relief fund established by Live Nation that helps unemployed live music workers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Beasties’ cooler comes “full of merch and includes a vinyl copy of Beastie Boys Music”; the Brandi Carlile cooler features art created by the singer and her family — and includes a drawing of a unicorn and rainbows on the lid– while the My Morning Jacket one comes with cool artwork...
Fiona Apple Teamed With Phoebe Bridgers and More to Cover Waterboys Tune
Last November’s finale of the Showtime drama The Affair included a cover of the Waterboys’ “The Whole of the Moon” by none other than Fiona Apple with Phoebe Bridgers on backing vocals. Now, a video of an emotive Apple cutting the tune in the studio has surfaced. The caption for the video, which was apparently shot and posted by filmmaker Zelda Hallman, explains that Apple asked Tony Berg to produce her version of the 1985 single. He recruited all-star players including drummer Matt Chamberlain, Patrick Warren, Ethan Gruska, guitarist Wendy Melvoin from Prince’s band the Revolution, and of course, Bridgers. “This was the first time she had met Wendy and Phoebe and fell in love with both of them,” Hallman’s statement accompanying the video says. This collaborat...
Phoebe Bridgers Performs Dreamy Version of ‘Kyoto’ in Her Bed
The old joke about a musician getting to Carnegie Hall has the punchline “practice,” but Phoebe Bridgers made it to the venue in her dreams during a strings-only version of “Kyoto” on The Late Late Show With James Corden. A pajamas-clad Bridgers starts off by singing in bed, microphone in hand, before arising, walking through a smoky doorway… and on to the “stage” at Carnegie Hall. She finishes the song there and at the end, applause begins, flowers are tossed onstage and Bridgers is revealed to be in front of a green screen. Check out the dreamy performance below. [embedded content] On Dec. 1, Bridgers released a video for “Savior Complex,” directed by comedian/actress Phoebe Waller-Bridge. This year, she’s also covered the Goo Goo Dolls and Merle Haggard, and released her Copycat Ki...
The 30 Best Albums of 2020
After a deluge of canceled or delayed tours, drive-in experiments, Bandcamp Fridays and bedroom livestreams, we’re finally here. Yay? It’s hard to celebrate much of anything in 2020. But one encouraging sign from the music industry has been the number of artists innovating on the fly — figuring out ways to sustain their careers through the madness. And as fans, at least we’ve had new albums to help us process our continuing semi-apocalypse. Having (mercifully) reached the end of this awful year, we have even more perspective on the functionality of a great record. The 30 we’ve assembled here have prompted us to dance, helped us grieve, made us laugh, or even just allowed us to escape into a transportive riff or soundscape. We assume they did the same for the artists themselves. Let us reme...
Billie Eilish, Cher, Phoebe Bridgers and More to Play Cyndi Lauper’s Home for the Holidays Benefit
Cyndi Lauper has announced her 10th annual Home for the Holidays benefit concert, featuring such stars as Billie Eilish, King Princess, Cher, Phoebe Bridgers, Sharon Osbourne, Taylor Swift, Dolly Parton, Bette Midler, Billy Porter, LL Cool J, Adam Lambert, Whoopi Goldberg, Youth Pride Chorus and many more. Home for the Holiday premieres on Dec. 11 exclusively on Lauper’s TikTok at 8PM EST, along with an additional stream Dec. 13 on Lauper’s YouTube and Facebook at 8PM EST. One hundred percent of the net proceeds go to True Colors United, the organization she co-founded to prevent and end homelessness among LGBTQ+ youth. “It’s been a crazy year, but I am grateful for so many things,” Lauper said in a statement. “My immensely talented and generous f...
Phoebe Bridgers Unveils ‘Savior Complex’ Video Directed by Phoebe Waller-Bridge
After landing four Grammy nominations last week, including Best New Artist, Phoebe Bridgers has unveiled a music video for “Savior Complex,” which is off of Punisher. The black-and-white video was directed by Emmy winner Phoebe Waller-Bridge (bringing together two Phoebes with similar names at long last) and it stars Normal People actor Paul Mescal. The video sees Mescal stumble around what appears to be the middle of nowhere, conning people for his own benefit, and being followed by a cute dog. She will also be performing on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon on Dec. 2. This video comes after the release of her Copycut Killer EP a few weeks ago, which features an alternative version of “Savior Complex,” among other Punisher tracks. There was also a...
Phoebe Bridgers Covers Merle Haggard’s ‘If We Make It Through December’ for Charity
In keeping with her tradition of releasing a charity track for the holidays, Phoebe Bridgers’ shared a cover of Merle Haggard’s “If We Make It Through December,” which was released today on Dead Oceans. Proceeds from sales and streams of “If We Make It Through December” will go directly to Downtown Women’s Center, an organization in Los Angeles focused exclusively on serving and empowering women experiencing homelessness and formerly homeless women. Produced by Tony Berg, Ethan Gruska and Bridgers, the singer-songwriter is accompanied by Gruska on piano, which is a beautiful, melancholy rendition of Haggard’s 1974 track. The song is a fitting end to a what’s been (to put it mildly) a volatile year. Last year, Bridgers’ holiday single, a cover of Simon and Garfunkel’...
Phoebe Bridgers and Maggie Rogers Team for Goo Goo Dolls Cover
Phoebe Bridgers is a woman of her word. After promising last week to record a cover of Goo Goo Dolls’ “Iris” if Trump lost the election, she’s done exactly that. Teaming with Maggie Rogers, Bridgers shared her cover on Friday. All proceeds from the song will go to Stacey Abrams’ Fair Fight organization, which promotes fair elections in Georgia and around the country. Not only were fans clamoring for the release, but Goo Goo Dolls were also as well. I just want you to know who I am… https://t.co/qz4sVL6yYh — traitor joe (@phoebe_bridgers) November 6, 2020 Listen to the song below. Iris by Phoebe & Maggie Earlier this week, Bridgers announced that she’s working on an EP (titled Copycat Killer) that will contain orchestral versions of four songs —...
