By Andre Paras and Ashley Ragone
Managing Editors
Phoebe Bridgers brought an otherworldly performance to Barclays Center this past weekend, despite powerful winds, feet of flooding and thousands of power outages across the east coast.
Coming off the release of her 2026 return “Lost Weekend,” Bridgers stopped by the Barclays Center for three sold-out shows as part of the North American leg of her tour.
Even if Phoebe Bridgers has managed to steer clear of the public eye for most of the past six years, this time has been astronomical for her career. She headlined “The Reunion Tour” from 2021-2023, released a Grammy award-winning album “the record” in 2023 as a part of indie-rock supergroup boygenius and toured and released music with Taylor Swift during “The Eras Tour,” ascending her popularity to new heights.
Prior to the announcement of her new album “Lost Weekend,” Bridgers performed in small U.S. towns, doing small, device-less pop-up shows, only selling tickets at in-person box offices. Her stops were notably mapped by locations with recorded UFO sighting rumors. The penultimate pop-up show took place at Madison Square Garden, with Bridgers donating all of the earnings from tickets to Community Justice Exchange’s Immigration Bond Freedom Fund.
The rollout of her record was quite unique, with Bridgers hosting more device-free experiences in planetariums and laser shows accompanied by an early listening of the now-released “Lost Weekend” in random cities across the country. At the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City, 10 sold out experiences were held from Aug. 10 to Aug. 14.
A month later, the critically acclaimed, long-awaited “Lost Weekend” album and “The Lost Tour” were brought to New York.
Phoebe Bridgers sold out three nights in a row at Barclays Center in Brooklyn from Sept. 24-26. (Photo by Andre Paras / Managing Editor)
Before the show begins there are several experiences for attendees to choose from, whether that be meeting Bridgers’ dog Maxine in line before doors open, free tarot card pickings, a photobooth opportunity or waiting for exclusive merchandise. This comes after fans scan their tickets and drop any recording or smart devices in Yondr pouches for the duration of the show.
Alex G, singer-songwriter and collaborator with Bridgers, opened the night with a whopping 19-song supporting set, spanning just about every era of the DIY indie-folk artist’s career.
He performed his entire set alongside his band with strobe lights from the “B-stage” in the middle of the arena, or as Bridgers renamed it, the “Below” pit. Still, he and the band are able to switch some songs up every night.
On Sept. 26, Barclays’ night three crowd got a set with the most tracks off “God Save the Animals,” “House of Sugar” and “Rocket,” tapping into Alex’s mid-to-late discography. Even the polarizing experimental track “Brick” made the cut..
With almost two decades as a music professional, there’s been so much personal growth of Alex G as an artist, even if his earliest works seem to resonate with audiences most today, thanks to songs like “Sarah” going viral on social media. So much so, fans know the mild disdain and dislike he’s expressed toward older work, even refusing to play it at certain headlining shows.
However, it’s admirable how he’s put this pride aside and notably on this recent opening tour. He’s been playing older material like songs off “Trick” more than ever in recent years, letting all eras of his career be heard in arenas.
As Bridgers’ set began, smoke machines set off all across the general admission floor and a rotating ball emitting strobe lights lowered down onto the Below stage. The ball pulsed as Bridgers’ vocoder-effected voice sang “The Outside,” the first track off of her new album.
Under a translucent dome akin to a flying saucer, Bridgers, accompanied by a full band, launched into “Motion Sickness.”
The whole year of rollout for the album followed themes of outer space, extraterrestrial beings and UFO sightings, so it only made sense she followed suit with this in full for her tour. Her on-stage visuals frequently used motifs of Saturn and Jupiter.
The night had four distinct sets, with these switches being signified by Bridgers changing over from the main, or “Above” stage, to Below stage, or vice versa. In each of these, there’s an equal distribution of love to almost every era of Bridgers, from “Stranger in the Alps” to present-day.
After “Liberty Tree,” Bridgers leaves and reappears at Below stage. Vulnerable, sitting on the floor alone with a keyboard, she plays “Lost Weekend,” building up to the song’s outro with a hyper, stimulating light show accompanying the track’s chaotic end. She’s later joined by her band here on the 360-degree slow-spinning stage.
Here, she shared her gratitude for fans putting aside devices for a few hours, and the main reason for this new policy. She spoke about the strange grieving process of her late father, whom she had a complicated relationship with, all while receiving more attention on her than ever.
Following “As Above,” Bridgers left Below stage and this time walked alongside the crowd, high-fiving and hugging fans along the way back to Above stage as the band continued to play. She resumed the sound of the full band with the erupting intro of “Bobby,” a distinct new pick in Bridgers’ catalog, coated in hopeful romance instead of irony and melancholy.
There, she played her new single “On Video,” promoting her film acting debut in “Primetime.” The film is directed by Lance Oppenheim, who came out on stage during “I Know the End” to shout the song’s outro alongside Bridgers and the crowd. Bridgers was also joined by fellow members of boygenius Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus for the third night in a row to play “Not Strong Enough,” and for the tour debut “Powers,” which was preceded by Bridgers describing her love for her “secret favorite” release “the rest” from the band’s catalog.
The show ends with one last return to Below stage, where Bridgers closes the show with the tear-jerker “Scott Street,” a relatable self-diary of a track from the singer’s first album.
It felt like a satisfying end to a movie, to see Bridgers’ huge smile on her face, looking off into a crowd living in the moment, waving hands in unison to the music while the house lights rose. It’s a reminder as to what live music is for her, and to the 20,000 people filling Barclays’ seats.
Somehow, in one of the biggest live concert settings possible, Bridgers created many intimate, heartfelt memories for a crowd right alongside and far from her. That’s where the magic lies in “The Lost Tour.”
The tour continued on Sept. 28 in Philadelphia, and is headed next to Washington D.C. and Toronto.
