The first concert Phoebe Bridgers ever attended
Phoebe Bridgers is one of the key leaders of the new generation of music makers. From her thoughtful solo work to her role as part of the Grammy-winning band Boygenius, everything she does drips with an effortless swagger, even when wading into dark emotional territory. When reading about her first concert experience, that all makes so much sense.
You might not guess from her pale skin and stark blonde hair, making her look like a Game Of Thrones queen or some vampirical angel, but Bridgers is California-born and bred. Growing up in Pasadena, she always had the musical world of Los Angeles on her doorstep.
But make no mistake, Bridgers isn’t a silver-spoon kid. “I didn’t grow up with money at all,” she told Kinfolk. “My friends’ parents were directors. They would have organic-y food in their lunches. It made me feel like shit.” Instead, her parents worked normal jobs, and Bridgers would spend her weekends busking at the Pasadena farmers market for extra cash, meaning that some of LA’s celebs and stars may well have been treated to an early Bridgers show while they picked out their carrots.
However, while her family weren’t wealthy, they were rich in culture. Her mother backed Bridgers’ musical dreams all the way, letting her go to Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, LACHSA, which was a publicly funded performing arts school once attended by the Haim sisters. It was at this school that Bridgers met Sloppy Jane, her first band. While other parents might have hoped their kid would pick a more realistic dream or try to talk them into sticking to a more academic path, her mum was all in and always willing to drive her to and from shows so she could “play in fucking Riverside”.
The reason is simply that her mum was a huge music fan. Bridgers’ childhood was soundtracked by her parents’ vinyl collection, featuring albums by Joni Mitchell, Hank Williams, and The Pretenders. It was her mother who took Bridgers to her first-ever concert, set on giving her a great musical education.
While some people’s first concert is a cheesy one, usually representative of childhood tastes that they’ve long since grown out of, Bridgers set her standards high immediately. For her first-ever concert, she witnessed the great Neil Young.
Playing at the Staples Center, her mother took her along to the show that Bridgers described simply as “rad”. She added, “I can’t remember how old I was. I’d probably been to concerts before, but not having been a fan first. [At home, there was] lots of Neil Young. Lots of Lauren Canyon music. Lots of Van Morrison. I’d seen The Last Waltz about 1,000 times before I was a functioning adult.”
It was clearly an impactful moment as strains of Young’s acoustic, sentimental style are undeniably heard in her music. Both artists balance wistful sounds with deeply thoughtful and rich lyricism, merging folk and rock to a beautiful end. From the guitar styling on tracks like ‘Scott Street’ or ‘Saviour Complex’, to the storytelling lyricism of ‘Graceland Too’ or ‘Funeral’, Bridgers clearly took inspiration from the best.
During a Records In My Life interview, Bridgers refused to pick just one Neil Young album but instead selected every single release by the artist. Alongside Tom Waits, Jackson Browne and Joni Mitchell, Bridgers has also spoken at length about the inspiration she gets from Elliott Smith.
Providing proof that early experiences can be influential and that some inspirations are timeless, Bridgers’ connection to Neil Young seemed to set her up for a life of great music.
