Phoebe Bridgers Takes ‘Lost Weekend’ Global With 300-Plus Midnight Listening Parties
Phoebe Bridgers is turning the release of her first solo album in six years into a worldwide fan event, with more than 300 midnight listening parties scheduled for August 13 ahead of Lost Weekend arriving on August 14 through Dead Oceans.
The record is Bridgers’ third solo studio album and her first since Punisher in 2020. Dead Oceans confirmed the August 14 release after Bridgers returned earlier this year with a run of surprise performances that culminated in a sold-out Madison Square Garden show.
The midnight events are only one part of an unusually ambitious rollout. Bridgers has also partnered with Spotify on immersive planetarium listening experiences running across dozens of venues in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand this week.
Depending on the venue, audiences hear the album inside a planetarium accompanied either by a custom night-sky presentation from photographer Babak Tafreshi or an immersive laser production from Laser Fantasy. The sessions are phone-free, with devices secured before audiences enter.
That approach gives the album campaign a physical dimension at a time when most music releases are built primarily around streaming and social platforms. The strategy connects record stores, scientific and cultural venues, Spotify and Bridgers’ digital audience around a coordinated international release.
Lost Weekend contains 16 tracks and follows Bridgers’ work with boygenius, the trio she formed with Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus. Bridgers won three Grammys with the group for its 2023 album the record.
The campaign began building in June when Bridgers released “Lost Boys,” her first original solo material since 2022. An official video directed by Lance Oppenheim and Pablo Rochat accompanied the single.
