Phoebe Bridgers Left The Internet To Release Her New Song. It’s Working

For six years, I’ve found myself wondering “this year Phoebe Bridgers has released a new album album?” The answer has always been a resounding “no”.

That changed on May 8, when a surprising broadcast appeared Roswell, New Mexicoannouncing a show that day at Liberty, a venue that holds several hundred people. Small popups advertised by flyers have followed in locations from Lubbock, Texas, to Macon, Georgia. On Thursday, another shoot, which was also announced through the air – is taking place in a larger area: Madison Square Gardento Waves is a sponsor and tickets are $1.

However despite nearly 20 shows, I have not heard a single new song. No photography is allowed, and concertgoers must keep their phones inside Yondr pockets. The lack of information has turned fans into searchers who want to know where the next show will be and if – or when – a new album is coming.

When there’s “more and more music, scarcity becomes a powerful tool,” says Jesse Sachs, a cultural marketing expert. This can also help artists to make their work more popular in the popular era.

“A lot of what’s been released has gone viral,” says twilightxgalaxy, a group moderator for the Phoebe Bridgers subreddit who asked to remain anonymous to protect their privacy. “Information has become scarce, fragmented, and sometimes only available to existing people, which has made anything new more important.”

He says the flow of daily information and online engagement turned “a surprise announcement into a public research project.”

The research work included daily fantasy, which included a fantasy based on a theory that played a place with a history of UFO sightings and important sharing. Group discussions began as people searched their towns for demonstrations. People are typing pictures of cards given out at shows that look like part of a bigger picture—perhaps an album cover—and brainstorming on song titles.

As a fan, I wasn’t above a little light work myself. Did I ask Claude to come up with a list of possible places to visit in California based on the fan theory that they are playing around with UFO sightings? Was I willing to drive eight hours to Area 51 for a shoot to see him live with a few hundred people? Yes I did and yes I was.

My search yielded no results unfortunately, but LeAnna Chase Williams, a developer from Cincinnati, was able to crack the code. He looked at Burl’s in Lexington, Kentucky — the town where he grew up — as the next stop after the Chattanooga, Tennessee show.

Chase Williams was following the march as it moved through the southeast and into Appalachia. Lexington is less than five hours from Chattanooga and a college town, a common theme in many of Bridgers’ shows. The Burl is “one of the only cool places for indie music in Lex,” says Chase Williams, “and when I looked up their events and saw that the next day they randomly didn’t have an event, I knew something was up.”

He went down on May 22 and waited out the rain for hours with many other fans who made the same bet, and were rewarded when Bridgers’ crew showed up with signs announcing the show.

He describes sitting on his feet watching Bridgers play on the couch in front of an audience of 200 as “the best”. The no cell phone rule “made everything,” said Chase Williams, 26. “I wish every concert was like that, after I’ve been through it.”