Phoebe Bridgers is taking her celestial streak and running with it.
There is something kinda cool about discovering that a planetarium in Wollongong is about to become one of the first places in the world where people can hear a new Phoebe Bridgers album.
But the more you think about it, the more it makes sense.
Bridgers has always been good at making sad songs feel strangely enormous, and now she is taking that instinct somewhere literal, announcing a global run of planetarium listening experiences for her third solo album, Lost Weekend.
Running from August 10–14, the sessions will play the album in full beneath immersive visuals projected across planetarium domes, ahead of its official release on August 14.
Australia and New Zealand have landed five locations, including Scienceworks Planetarium in Melbourne, UOW Science Space in Wollongong, Te Whatu Stardome in Auckland, Space Place in Wellington and Tūhura Planetarium in Dunedin.
The Wollongong date in particular feels like one of those slightly surreal tour announcements you have to read twice. A Phoebe Bridgers album premiere, under the stars, in Wollongong.
Depending on the venue, the record will be paired with one of two visual presentations: a custom night-sky dome show created by photographer Babak Tafreshi, or a laser show from Laser Fantasy.
There is also one fairly important catch: no phones.
All sessions will be completely device-free, with phones locked away in Yondr pouches before entry. As someone who gets mildly stressed the second a Yondr pouch appears, I understand the resistance, but for a first listen to a Phoebe Bridgers record, it might actually be the point.
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Punisher was the kind of album that rewarded sitting with it properly. Six years later, Lost Weekend is getting a rollout designed to make that almost unavoidable.
For fans who miss out on the planetarium sessions, participating record stores in cities including Sydney, Brisbane, Hobart and Launceston will also host official midnight listening parties on August 13.
Lost Weekend marks Bridgers’ first solo album since Punisher in 2020, following the huge rise of boygenius and years of collaborations, touring and side projects.
So yes, hearing a Phoebe Bridgers record for the first time inside a planetarium in Wollongong sounds kinda perfect
Lost Weekend is out August 14.
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