The Hackney shows are the only dates set in Europe for Baker’s tour, which has taken her around the United States and Canada; the tour will be ending with these British stops, only to resume in April of next year where Baker will begin playing summer festivals, so far announced only in the US.

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Baker had previously toured around the UK and Europe, playing many smaller cities around various countries, in her 2021 and 2022 tour. She has played in the UK London, Leeds, Glasgow and Dublin. Baker didn’t comment on why she chose to play multiple nights in London rather than travelling across the country; surely however this decision didn’t bother fans who still managed to sell out every single UK show set for this tour.

Over social media, fans have discussed Baker’s setlist which appears to be changing for every show. Back in the United States, Baker had invited some musician friends to join her on stage, for example Lucy Dacus. In the UK, however, little is known about the shows besides the fact that they are fully sold-out. She previously sang fan-favourite songs such as “Appointments”, “Hardline” and “Everybody Does”.

Baker is an indie artist whose rise to fame happened in relation to the super group Boygenius, of which she is part along with Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus. Baker only has one album recognized in the UK charts: “Little Oblivions” released 2021 peaked at 51 in the UK. But Baker has a big fan-base in the UK. Last year, along with Boygenius, she headlined Gunnersbury Park in London, played two sold-out nights at iconic Piece Hall in Halifax and headlined Connect Festival in Edinburgh.

With Boygenius, on the other hand, Baker does have a UK number one: their album “The Record” released in 2023.

Baker released her debut album in 2015 while she was a student in Tennessee, her home state. After the album, titled “Sprained Ankle” received good critical acclaim, Baker went on to release “Turn Out the Lights” in 2017 and “Little Oblivions” in 2021. Her music resonates with fans for its softness and confession-like lyricism. Some of her songs, such as “Sprained Ankle” and “Hardline” have gone viral on TikTok in the past few years, gaining Baker more recognition. But her loyal fan-base is more mesmerised by Baker’s extraordinary lyricism and ability to describe with such understanding depth emotions, feelings and the journey of each human being.

Tonight and tomorrow are the last two dates on Baker’s UK tour, but it’s likely that the American singer will announce more dates to take place next summer.

Big Time is an album about the expansive power of new love, written during the time Olsen was coming out as queer, and having her first experience of queer love and heartbreak. But this brightness and optimism is tempered by a profound and layered sense of loss. During Olsen’s process of coming to terms with her queerness and confronting the traumas that had been keeping her from fully accepting herself, she felt it was time to come out to her parents, a hurdle she’d been avoiding for some time. “Some experiences just make you feel as though you’re five years old, no matter how wise or adult you think you are,” she writes of that time. After that tearful but relieving conversation, she celebrated with her partner, their friends, oysters, and wine. “Finally, at the ripe age of 34, I was free to be me.” Three days later, her father died; his funeral became the occasion for Olsen to introduce her partner to her family. Only two weeks later Olsen got the call that her mother was in the ER. Hospice came soon after, and a second funeral came quickly on the heels of the first. Another trip back to St. Louis, another grief to face, another deepening and intensification of this still-new love. Three weeks after her mother’s funeral she was in the studio, recording this incredibly wise and tender new album, Big Time.

“I can’t say that I’m sorry / when I don’t feel so wrong anymore,” the record begins, her voice softer and more open than ever, as if she’s singing through a hard-won smile. “All the Good Times,” a twangy banger with nods to JJ Cale, starts the album on a triumphant and bright note. The song’s video, starring Olsen and her partner, was directed by Kimberly Stuckwisch, who worked on last year’s “Like I Used To” video. Stuckwisch comments, “Angel’s story is a gift. It allowed me to visually explore the universal themes of love, loss, and most importantly what holds us back from realizing our true selves.”

Playful bits of Tammy Wynette and Kitty Wells appear on Big Time, as do the complex orchestrations of her genre-bending 2019 record, All Mirrors. While that record was full of dramatic shifts and twists, here the surprises come in their simplicity—a slow swell of strings, instrumentation that cycles like a storm, or sparkling horns in a light-flooded break-up ballad, and there’s hardly a synth in sight. Big Time was recorded and mixed with co-producer Jonathan Wilson at his Fivestar Studios in Topanga, California. Drew Erickson played piano, organ, and handled string arrangements, and Olsen’s longtime bandmate, Emily Elhaj, played bass throughout.

Instead of the usual pre-order fare, every CD and LP copy of Big Time ordered directly from the artist or label store will include an additional charge to offset the carbon emissions of each piece. Jagjaguwar, in partnership with Terra Lumina Consulting, calculated emissions and costs to achieve a carbon negative product for “cradle-to-grave” use of each physical piece: from the mining of materials, to pressing and shipping, to the electricity consumed by your stereo at home, to end of life disposal. Carbon offsets will be purchased through Native, supporting the Medford Spring Grassland project. Pre-order the album here.

Later this summer, Olsen will embark on The Wild Hearts tour alongside Sharon Van Etten, Julien Baker, and Spencer… Additionally, today, she announced a fall European tour, on sale this Friday. All shows are listed below, you can get tickets here:

18/10/22 – London – Brixton Academy
19/10 – Bath – The Forum
20/10 – Edinburgh – Usher Hall
21/10 – Manchester – Albert Hall
24/10 – Dublin – Vicar Street

Boygenius will feature six tracks, three of which were released on the 21st of August 2018. According to NME each artist brought one song and one idea to the recording session, which they then worked on together. The three song released are the Dacus-led “Bite The Hand,” the Bridgers-led “Me & My Dog,” and the Baker-led “Stay Down.”

“When we met, Lucy and Phoebe and I were in similar places in our lives and our musical endeavours, but also had similar attitudes toward music that engendered an immediate affinity. Lucy and Phoebe are incredibly gifted performers, and I am a fan of their art outside of being their friends, but they are also both very wise, discerning and kind people whom I look up to in character as much as in talent,” says Baker.

Speaking about the EP “It seemed obvious to record a 7-inch for tour, although many adult men will try to take credit for the idea,” says Bridgers. “When we got together, we had way more songs than we expected and worked so well together, that we decided to make a full EP. Everyone seemed both confident enough to present ideas and fight for their individual vision, but considerate and humble enough to make decisions which ultimately served the song. It was a process that required a balance of determination and forthrightness with graciousness and pliability, and I think that we all did a good job of enacting that,” Baker continued.

The US tour will see Baker and Bridgers co-headline with support from Dacus. Each musician will play a solo set, while a press release suggests fans “might be able to hear some Boygenius songs along the way.” The trio are set to hit the road on the 4th of  November in Nashville and are expected to conclude their tour on the 30th of November in Los Angeles. While, Bakers UK leg of her tour begins on the 24th of August in Manchester and is set to conclude on the 29th of August in London. Meanwhile, Dacus’ UK leg of her tour begins on the 22nd of September in Norwich and is set to conclude on the 31st of September in London.

Julien Baker and Phoebe Bridgers with Lucy Dacus — 2018 Tour Dates
04/11/2018 – Ryman Auditorium
06/11 – Brooklyn Steel – New York
07/11 – Brooklyn Steel – New York
08/11 – Orpheum Theatre – Boston
10/11 – Danforth Music Hall – Toronto
11/11 – Majestic Theatre – Detroit
12/11 – Thalia Hall – Chicago
13/11 – Thalia Hall – Chicago
15/11 – The Pageant – St Louis
16/11 – The Sylvee – Madison
17/11  – First Avenue – Minneapolis
19/11 – Ogden Theatre – Denver
20/11 –  The Depot – Salt Lake City
23/11 – Commodore Ballroom – Vancouver
24/11 – The Moore Theatre – Seattle
25/11 –  Crystal Ballroom – Portland
27/11 –  Fox Theatre – Oakland
29/11 – The Observatory North Park – San Diego
30/11 – The Wiltern – Los Angeles

Julien Baker — 2018 Tour Dates
24/09 – Gorilla – Manchester
25/09 – St Luke’s – Glasgow
27/09 – Vicar Street – Dublin
29/09 – O2 Shepherds Bush Empire – London

Lucy Dacus — 2018 Tour Dates
22/10 – Norwich Arts Centre – Norwich
23/10 – Thekla – Bristol
25/10 – The Cookie – Leicester
26/10 – Mono – Glasgow
27/10 – Now Wave – Manchester
29/10 – The Haunt – Brighton
31/10 – Islington Assembly Hall – London