Indie rock musician Julien Baker began her short residency at The Bellwether in Los Angeles on October 25, playing essential tracks from the span of her discography. This residency closed the U.S. leg of her 2024 headline tour — her first time touring as a solo artist after a successful album and tour cycle as part of the Grammy Award-winning band, boygenius. On her first night of four at The Bellwether, Baker took her fans back to the beginning with heartfelt piano ballads and fan-favorite rock tunes, reminding us of her prowess as a solo headliner.Â
The night began with an orchestral arrangement of “Over,” a somber instrumental track from Baker’s Turn Out the Lights that set the tone for a show full of vulnerable lyrical storytelling. Fans cheered as Baker then took the stage, but quieted in awe as she performed “Appointments” and powerfully delivered the lyric, “Maybe it’s all gonna turn out alright, I know that it’s not, but I have to believe that it is,” a capella. Known for her skills as a guitarist, she brought out her first of three guitars for “Ringside” and “Red Door,” further captivating the room with her musicality.Â
Fans then erupted into cheers upon the first note of “Relative Fiction,” a core track from Baker’s most recent album, Little Oblivions. A mirrorball lit the theater up in shimmers for the duration of the song — a perfectly enchanting atmosphere to accompany the song. The crowd’s energy carried through fan favorites “Favor” and “Conversation Piece,” the latter being a non-album 7-inch vinyl track, which Baker noted she would be playing a lot of throughout the night. She then performed a surprise unreleased track, “High in the Basement.” The first act of the show closed with “Tokyo,” and Baker packed a punch in its instrumental outro by flipping her hair and fully shredding guitar.Â
Baker transitioned into an acoustic performance of “Something” from her debut album, Sprained Ankle, and performed solo without her band. As she tuned her guitar, she encouraged the crowd to sing along with her and hilariously suggested that anyone who does not know the words should step out to “get a drink, put money in your meter, it will be over soon” — to which she and the crowd both laughed. Everyone did, in fact, know the words, and sang back to her, filling the room with echoes for a heartfelt stripped-back performance.Â
With her band back on stage, Baker delivered emotional performances of “Crying Wolf” and “Ziptie.” Her fans — who had already been singing along enthusiastically for the entire show — joined in even louder for “Sprained Ankle,” loudly echoing, “Marathon running, my ankles are sprained.” The stage illuminated red for “Bloodshot,” which further highlighted Baker’s stellar abilities as a guitarist; she jammed around the stage as if the guitar were a dance partner, rocking out without ever missing a note. She went without her guitar for “Claws in Your Back,” the final powerful piano ballad of the night, packed with Baker’s superb belting vocals.
The crowd’s energy spiked for “Hardline,” another guitar-heavy rock song to which they sang along like it was their personal anthem. The night ended with “Everybody Does” as an unforgettable encore; originally an acoustic song as heard on Sprained Ankle, Baker electrified and reimagined it to be played with a full rock band.
To combine genres, play across a complete discography, and deliver captivating stage presence while hitting every right note is a performer’s feat — and Julien Baker does it easily. While her success with boygenius remains remarkable, Baker’s solo headline tour demands we do not forget her brilliance as a solo artist.Â