Not long ago, the group text thread shared by Lucy Dacus, Phoebe Bridgers and Julien Baker lit up with exciting news: Theyd been offered a slot at Woodstock 50, the three-day festival taking place this August at a racetrack in Watkins Glen, New York. Once we realized it could happen, the whole text chain became all-caps: WE GET TO SEE EACH OTHER AND PLAY A SHOW!' Dacus recalls.
The three talented singer-songwriters teamed up last year as Boygenius, releasing a great EP and touring together in the fall, but their schedules since then have been too packed to do much more: Bridgers is currently on tour with Conor Oberst as Better Oblivion Community Center, Dacus is on the road with her band, and all three of the indie-rock super-friends are working on new solo projects. That leaves Woodstock 50 as Boygenius only scheduled performance as a trio in 2019.
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This is the one where the stars aligned, Dacus tells Rolling Stone. Im honestly just really excited to do another show with Phoebe and Julien. Its the only show that we have on the books, so its the only assurance that Boygenius really exists.
Thinking out loud, she adds: Im hoping theres not a curse. Everyone talks about Woodstock 99. Maybe were going to encounter some dark energy at this fest. But Im up for some weirdness.
Playing Woodstock 50 makes sense for a trio that is, in part, a playful reaction to supergroups of the past as seen on the cover of the Boygenius EP, a visual reference to 1969 Woodstock alums Crosby, Stills and Nash. That idea for the photo was Phoebes, Dacus says. I think the symbolism of the image, taking the form of some classic-rock dudes, comes through. Its important to show up as ladies, to fill in the place that men have had for so long.
She hopes that Woodstock 50s organizers are able to do something similar with this years festival, whose lineup includes a few returning acts from the original 1969 weekend (Santana, Dead & Company, John Fogerty), along with newer acts ranging from Brandi Carlile and Janelle Monae to Soccer Mommy, Courtney Barnett and Margo Price. They have a chance to use the form of the old Woodstock and show that theres been change in what music looks like not only what music sounds like, but whos making it, Dacus says.
Otherwise, Dacus has plenty to keep her busy both before and after she heads to upstate New York this summer. She recently released a romantic cover of Edith Piafs La Vie en Rose for Valentines Day, the first in a series of one-off originals and covers shell be rolling out throughout 2019. Each of the singles is thematically tied to a holiday, with songs planned for Mothers Day, Independence Day, Halloween and Bruce Springsteens 70th birthday, among others.
Bruces birthday should be a national holiday, she says. It definitely is in the Dacus household. While her father is a self-proclaimed Number One Springsteen fan, she herself discovered the New Jersey icons music relatively late. I hated him in middle school because my dad loved him so much, but then if you listen, its undeniable that he is a poet and a keen observer of the world, Dacus continues. And the songs are bops. He has the gift of making songs that feel good but contain depth, and ask something from his listeners.
Dacus has also written most of a new solo album, entirely separate from the singles series, with plans to record the follow-up to her 2018 LP Historian later this year. The material really freaks me out, she says. Its largely about early childhood and early friendships and family, and weird stuff that youre taught when youre a kid, and things you have to unlearn gender, sexuality, what loyalty looks like, what trust is. It makes my throat close up a little bit to think about sharing these songs.
In the meantime, she cant wait to catch up with Bridgers and Baker when their schedules allow it next month. Were probably going to get matching tattoos, which will be sweet, Dacus says. Shes planning to ink a single tooth on her right ring finger like Bite the Hand, she explains, referring to the stunning ballad that opens the Boygenius EP.
Unlike her bandmates, Dacus has never been tattooed before. Ive been afraid, because it seems like you can never be naked again after you get a tattoo, she says. But now seems like the right time.