Today Julien Baker has released a new EP B-Sides, via Matador Records. Intimate and emotional, the 3 never-before-heard songs were taken from the recording sessions for her critically heralded third full-length Little Oblivions.
Tonight Baker kicks off The Wild Hearts Tour, an epic run of co-headlining dates alongside Sharon Van Etten and Angel Olsen. The tour sees these three legendary songwriters playing across North America the rest of this month through to August 26. The tour includes multiple night stands at Los Angeles’ Greek Theatre and New York City’s Central Park Summerstage. It consists of mostly outdoor venues, with the exception of the legendary Ryman Auditorium in Nashville and Massey Hall in Toronto. Each artist will play with their own respective band. Tickets are on sale now, and special guest Quinn Christopherson will support on most dates. Additionally, The Wild Hearts Tour has partnered with PLUS1 so that $1 from every ticket will go to support people rebuilding their lives after incarceration. All dates are listed below.
JULIEN BAKER – THE WILD HEARTS – TOUR DATES:
Jul. 21 – Vienna, VA @ Wolf Trap Center for the Performing Arts *
Jul. 22 – Asheville, NC @ Rabbit Rabbit *
Jul. 23 – Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium
Jul. 25 – Austin, TX @ Moody Amphitheater *
Jul. 28 – Los Angeles, CA @ Greek Theatre *
Jul. 29 – Los Angeles, CA @ Greek Theatre *
Jul. 30 – Berkeley, CA @ The Greek Theatre *
Aug. 02 – Troutdale, OR @ McMenamins Edgefield Amphitheatre *
Aug. 03 – Redmond, WA @ Marymoor Park *
Aug. 05 – Boise, ID @ Idaho Botanical Garden *
Aug. 06 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Gallivan Center *
Aug. 07 – Denver, CO @ Sculpture Park *
Aug. 09 – Minneapolis, MN @ Surly Brewing Festival Field
Aug. 10 – Chicago, IL @ Salt Shed *
Aug. 11 – Kalamazoo, MI @ Bell’s Eccentric Cafe *
Aug. 12 – Toronto, ON @ Massey Hall
Aug. 13 – Toronto, ON @ Massey Hall
Aug. 15 – Shelburne, VT @ The Green at Shelburne Museum *
Aug. 16 – LaFayette, NY @ Beak & Skiff Apple Orchards *
Aug. 18 – Boston, MA @ Leader Bank Pavilion *
Aug. 19 – Philadelphia, PA @ Skyline Stage at The Mann *
Aug. 20 – New York, NY @ Central Park SummerStage *
Aug. 21 – New York, NY @ Central Park SummerStage *
Sharon Van Etten, Angel Olsen, and Julien Baker announce The Wild Hearts Tour, an epic co-headlining tour that sees these three legendary songwriters, all known for their incredible, cathartic live performances, playing across North America this July and August. The tour consists of mostly outdoor venues, with the exception of the legendary Ryman Auditorium in Nashville and Massey Hall in Toronto. Each artist will play with their own respective band. Tickets are on sale this Friday, January 14th at 10am local time, and special guest Spencer. will support on all dates.
“I’m so thrilled to be traveling and playing music alongside Spencer., Julien Baker and Sharon Van Etten. It’s truly a dream, something to hold and share collaboratively as we get out from under the last few years. I know for fans it’s something different and special too, and for me, it’s sort of like a caravan summer camp-a chance to get to know other artists in a deeper way and talk about music and life and how it affects us all as we move forward. Most of all, I am excited to sing live again, in an open and real way, both alone and together with my tourmates.”
– Angel Olsen
“Sharon and Angel are artists that I have genuinely admired for many years and whose music has honestly informed much of my own writing and music making, and I’m thrilled to be sharing a stage with them every night. I think after interacting with their recorded work separately so much, it will be special to get to learn from them as we share the space of performance.”
– Julien Baker
“Our aim is to strengthen our respective communities and promote camaraderie in the music world in a safe and enjoyable environment while supporting, A New Way Of Life, an organization that we feel is making genuine impact for the underserved. We have carefully chosen the venues we think will deliver the best experience for us and our fans. I look up to Angel and have the deepest admiration for Julien and Spencer.. It is an honor, to say the least, to be able to share the stage with such talent on a tour across North America.”
– Sharon Van Etten
Last year saw Van Etten and Olsen collaborating on “Like I Used To,” a true knockout and one of 2021’s best songs. Additionally, Baker released Little Oblivions, one of 2021’s most praised albums.
The Wild Hearts Tour has partnered with PLUS1 so that $1 from every ticket will go to support people rebuilding their lives after incarceration.
The Wild Hearts Tour Dates
Thu. Jul. 21 – Vienna, VA @ Wolf Trap Center For the Performing Arts *
Fri. Jul. 22 – Asheville, NC @ Rabbit Rabbit *
Sat. Jul. 23 – Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium
Mon. Jul. 25 – Austin, TX @ Moody Amphitheater *
Fri. Jul. 29 – Los Angeles, CA @ Greek Theatre *
Sat. Jul 30 – Berkeley, Ca @ Greek Theatre *
Tu. Aug. 2 – Troutdale, OR @ McMenamins Edgefield Amphitheater *
Wed. Aug. 3 – Redmond, WA @ Marymoor Amphitheater *
Fri. Aug. 5 – Boise, ID @ Idaho Botanical Garden *
Sat. Aug. 6 – Salt Lake City, UT @ TBA *
Sun. Aug. 7 – Denver, CO @ Sculpture Park *
Tue. Aug. 9 – Minneapolis, MN @ Surly Brewing Festival Field *
Wed. Aug 10 – Chicago, IL @ TBA *
Thu. Aug. 11 – Kalamazoo, MI @ Bell’s Eccentric Cafe *
Fri. Aug. 12 – Toronto, ON @ Massey Hall
Mon. Aug. 15 – Shelburne, VT @ The Green at Shelburne Museum *
Tue. Aug. 16 – LaFayette, NY @ Beak & Skiff Apple Orchards *
Thu. Aug. 18 – Boston, MA @ Leader Bank Pavilion *
Fri. Aug. 19 – Philadelphia, PA @ Skyline Stage at The Mann *
Sun. Aug. 21 – New York, NY @ Central Park Summerstage *
“Maybe it’s a trite or well-trod topic, but ‘Heatwave’ is really just about being confronted with how much time I spend worrying about things that are trivial. I was stuck in traffic because a car had randomly combusted, and it made me feel so stupid for being concerned with the things I had been anxious about earlier that day. It was just such a poignant thing, an event that communicated a lot of complex things in a single image. So I wrote a song about it. I know I’m not the first person to witness an atrocity and consider my own mortality or life’s fragility because of it, but that truly was my experience. Theoretically the lesson or symbolism to be interpreted there is that life is precious and it’s not worth it to give your time and energy to negative thoughts, but jesus, how could you be a person alive on earth right now and not have negative thoughts? It’s certainly less romantic to say that the consideration of life’s fragility made me feel relieved at my own inconsequence, but it’s true; it is comforting to think of the minuscule role everyone plays in the human drama, to realize we have more choice about what we give power over us than we maybe thought.”
Baker’s new album Little Oblivions is out this Friday, February 26 on Matador Records.
Julien Baker is releasing her 3rd studio album Little Oblivions in February. Today she has the first single “Faith Healer.”
She says, “Put most simply, I think that ‘Faith Healer’ is a song about vices, both the obvious and the more insidious ways that they show up in the human experience. I started writing this song 2 years ago and it began as a very literal examination of addiction. For awhile, I only had the first verse, which is just a really candid confrontation of the cognitive dissonance a person who struggles with substance abuse can feel– the overwhelming evidence that this substance is harming you, and the counterintuitive but very real craving for the relief it provides. When I revisited the song I started thinking about the parallels between the escapism of substance abuse and the other various means of escapism that had occupied a similar, if less easily identifiable, space in my psyche.
“There are so many channels and behaviors that we use to placate discomfort unhealthily which exist outside the formal definition of addiction. I (and so many other people) are willing to believe whomever– a political pundit, a preacher, a drug dealer, an energy healer– when they promise healing, and how that willingness, however genuine, might actually impede healing.”
