Phoebe Bridgers

While still in school, Bridgers played in numerous bands, including Einstein's Dirty Secret and Sloppy Jane, and also frequently played shows around LA as a solo act.[7][8] Her career began to take off when she met American singer-songwriter Ryan Adams through mutual collaborator Harrison Whitford, and he produced her major label debut 7", ‘’Killer’’, releasing it on his record label PAX AM in 2014. During this time the two had a fraught romantic relationship, which would go on to inspire her hit single “Motion Sickness."[3][9][10][11][12][13] Bridgers also supported Julien Baker on her 2016 tour of the east coast.[14][15]

In January 2017, Bridgers released the single “Smoke Signals” and opened for Conor Oberst on his European tour.[16] The two had met the previous summer at a secret showcase organized by Oberst at the Bootleg Theater in LA, and both he and his Bright Eyes bandmate Mike Mogis contributed vocals and production to Stranger in the Alps.[17] Bridgers then joined The Joy Formidable and Ryan Adams for select dates on their respective U.S. tours before playing at South by Southwest that March.[16]

In June 2017, Bridgers signed to independent label Dead Oceans, and she released her debut studio album Stranger in the Alps in September of that year to generally positive reviews.[18][19] The album’s production credits feature Tony Berg, Ethan Gruska, and Rob Moose, all of whom would become consistent collaborators with Bridgers.[20]

The release of Stranger in the Alps saw her performing on CBS This Morning and the NPR Tiny Desk, and numerous songs off the record were featured in television shows throughout 2018, including Switched at Birth, Castle, Burden of Truth, Lethal Weapon, and Netflix's Trinkets.[21][22][23]

Bridgers has been referred to as a “serial collaborator,” and has either been featured on or co-released tracks with Lord Huron, Fiona Apple, Matt Berninger and The National, Manchester Orchestra, The 1975, and Kid Cudi, among others, in addition to full-album projects with Conor Oberst, Julien Baker, and Lucy Dacus.[24][25]

Bridgers in July 2018

In 2018, Bridgers teamed up with fellow indie singer-songwriters Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus to form the group Boygenius, signed to Matador Records.[26] They released three songs that August and subsequently announced an eponymous EP, which was released on October 26, 2018 to widespread critical acclaim.[27][28] Pitchfork called the collaboration “magic,” and the trio has spoken extensively about the restorative and inspiring nature of their time in the studio together.[29] They spent November touring the U.S., and appeared on Late Night with Seth Meyers and the NPR Tiny Desk.[30]

Bridgers and Conor Oberst announced the formation of their band Better Oblivion Community Center on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in January 2019, and they released their debut album later that month through Dead Oceans.[31] They appeared on CBS This Morning and earned Bridgers her third appearance on NPR’s Tiny Desk series.[32] Bob Boilen, creator of the Tiny Desk Concerts, said of their album, "It's that rare musical partnership where each injects vibrancy into the other's creative side."[33]

On February 26, Bridgers released the single "Garden Song" alongside its music video.[34] In April, The 1975 released the song "Jesus Christ 2005 God Bless America," featuring Bridgers, ahead of their album Notes on a Conditional Form which was released in May. She features on three other songs from the album and was slated to tour with them in summer 2020, before the tour’s cancellation due to the Covid-19 pandemic.[35][36] On April 9, Bridgers released "Kyoto"[37] and announced via Instagram that her second album Punisher would be released on June 19, 2020. She ended up dropping it a day early on June 18, stating, "I'm not [delaying] the record until things go back to 'normal' because I don't think they should. Here it is a little early."[38] The album received widely positive reviews.[39][40]

While working on Punisher, Bridgers also produced Christian Lee Hutson's third album Beginners, which was released in May 2020.[24] That September she played to an all-virtual audience of 4 million at Red Rocks Amphitheatre as part of their Unpaused Concert Series, and in October she announced the formation of her own label Saddest Factory, an imprint of Dead Oceans.[41]

While awaiting the results of the 2020 United States presidential election on November 3, Bridgers tweeted that she would cover "Iris" by Goo Goo Dolls if Donald Trump lost. The cover, which was recorded as a duet with Maggie Rogers under the name Phoebe & Maggie, was released exclusively via Bridgers’ Bandcamp page for one day only on November 13 and was downloaded 28,000 times, with proceeds going towards Stacey Abrams’ Fair Fight Action organization to promote fair elections in the state of Georgia as well as nationally.[42][43] Though the song was available for one day, Billboard confirmed it would have been eligible to top their Digital Song Sales chart.[44]

On November 10, Bridgers announced an EP of four reworked tracks from Punisher entitled Copycat Killer, in collaboration with Rob Moose, that was released digitally on November 20.[45] On November 23, Bridgers released a cover of Merle Haggard's "If We Make It Through December" through Dead Oceans, with proceeds going towards Los Angeles' Downtown Women's Center.[46]

Bridgers garnered four nominations at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards for Best New Artist, Best Rock Performance, Best Rock Song, and Best Alternative Music Album.[47] On December 1, 2020, Bridgers released a music video for the song "Savior Complex," directed by Phoebe Waller-Bridge and starring Paul Mescal. She featured on the Kid Cudi track "Lovin Me" which appears on his album Man on the Moon III: The Chosen, and also sang backing vocals on Charlie Hickey's songs “No Good at Lying” and "Ten Feet Tall".[48][49] Bridgers performed as the musical guest on the February 6 episode of Saturday Night Live, playing "Kyoto" and "I Know the End" and closing the performance by smashing her guitar on a fake stage monitor.[50][51]