Phoebe Bridgers is finally back, but you might not know with the lack of photographic evidence. Since May, the singer has quietly trekked between tiny venues across the United States, announcing shows day-of with no online promotion. To top it all off, Bridgers has enforced a strict no-phone policy for fans not just to further personalize the experience, but to avoid leaking new music as well.
In a large departure from the small towns and quaint venues of the past month, the singer closed out her unconventional tour at a packed Madison Square Garden on June 4. Generic ticketing for the event was replaced by a lottery system that offered winners the option to pay $1, $5, $10 or $20 for their seat — the proceeds of which went toward paying immigration bonds through Community Justice Exchange, an organization focused on abolishing the prison industrial complex.
“I appreciate you allowing this to be an internet-free zone,” Bridgers told the show halfway through her set, which similarly had a strict no-recording policy. Even pen and paper were prohibited, as some attendees across the tour took it upon themselves to write down new lyrics and share them online.
Bridgers, who has not released a solo album since 2020, has been one of the most anticipated artists to release new music for several years now. Even after winning three Grammys in 2023 with supergroup Boygenius — composed of Bridgers and fellow indie singers Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker — fans were still hungry for more, especially considering the “Scott Street” singer’s lack of social media presence.
Her Madison Square Garden set consisted of 15 songs, including eight unreleased tracks presumably from her upcoming, unannounced third album. She kicked the night off with one of her biggest hits, “Motion Sickness,” sitting on a beige, worn-in couch alongside guitarist Christian Lee Hutson and keyboardist Nick White. The formation of the small circular stage felt like peering into Bridgers’ living room past midnight: lamps flickered in shades of orange and purple, a small vintage television played old cartoons and “The Twilight Zone”-esque visuals all while a projector turned her backdrop into a dark sky filled with stars and planets. The design set the mood for the dynamism Bridgers portrays in her moody music — personal, nostalgic and just a bit extraterrestrial.
After ironically asking the 18,000 fans in front of her for song requests — which resulted in an acoustic rendition of the fan-favorite track “Waiting Room” — Bridgers began playing new music. Before starting, she specifically requested anyone who somehow “stuck an Apple Watch up your ass to record this” not to post any information about the new tracks online. She included eight new tracks in her set, one of which she hadn’t played before at any of her previous pop-up concerts.
The screen-free atmosphere proved the perfect setting for Bridgers’ signature melancholy tunes. Even with no phones for attendees to sway with flashlights, there were hilariously enough fans with lighters to cast a warm glow on the venue during “Graceland Too.” In times where excessive phone usage is a hot topic of modern concert etiquette, Bridgers’ show proved that a no-phone concert is possible even in an arena the size of Madison Square Garden.
Though Bridgers has yet to share details about her third album, she all but confirmed that new music is on the horizon by nonchalantly promising a fall 2026 tour, launching an eruption of screams from the crowd. Officially announced the next day on Instagram, Bridgers will be bringing “The Lost Tour” back to New York this September at the Barclays Center, with a similar promise of a phone-free environment.
Contact Amelia Knust at [email protected].