As this year’s Live Summer Series at The Piece Hall draws to a close later this week, there’s still time to squeeze in a few more huge acts and this evening marks the second of two back to back dates by indie supergroup boygenius.
When boygenius were first announced, it was a somewhat bemusing affair – why Halifax? Why not somewhere bigger? This band, with their diehard fans, are comfortably capable of selling out arenas in multiple spots around the country, yet they have chosen two nights in Halifax and one night at London’s Gunnersbury Park. It’s a huge coup to the people behind the scenes and a way to put The Piece Hall on the map to those outside of the West Yorkshire region.
American singer-songwriter Ethel Cain was on support duties for all dates, providing her unique blend of ethereal style with dark imagery and lyrics:
It’s safe to say boygenius have garnered a huge following despite a seemingly short space of time in the industry as a group, likely down to members each having their own established careers beforehand. Revered as the female songwriters of this generation, Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus first began working together by accident in 2018 as genuine fans of each other’s work and initially formed the band to reject the idea of the music industry pitting women against each other – even the name boygenius began as a joke in part due to shared negative experiences with male artists.
They are now riding high following the release of their debut studio album ‘The Record’ back in March, less than 6 months ago. Their popularity is such that tales of fans sleeping overnight outside just to get the coveted barrier spot are whispered around the venue and the snaking queue that reached all the way around and through the centre of town is also a bit of a giveaway. For many of the regular loyal visitors to this venue during the summer months of live music, boygenius are a band that they’ve never heard of, which has created a far wider audience appeal meaning fans have travelled much further afield to attend – some from as far as Australia!
[robo-gallery id=57458]
