An Evening at Re:Set Festival with boygenius and Clairo

Around 5:30 pm on Saturday I boarded a METRA train out to Riis Park in the Northwest Suburbs of Chicago to attend the newest indie music festival traveling through the United States.

Re:Set festival originated this year as a three-day touring festival where the headliners choose the artists who make up the bill. Friday evening included the artists James Blake, Toro y Moi, Fousheé, and Steve Lacy while Sunday’s bill included LCD Soundsystem with support from Jamie XX, IDLES, and L’Rain. Though I did not catch Day 1 or 3, I snagged a ticket to Day 2 to see Clairo and supergroup, boygenius.

Upon arrival at the festival, I was pleasantly surprised by the smooth entry process and cleanliness of the park. Along the perimeter were various bars and local food vendors. It was a hot one on Saturday so I had been itching for ice cream. I ordered a chocolate peanut butter ice cream sandwich that happened to be made with a donut instead of cookies - so yummy. After our brief pit stop to curb my never satiated sweet tooth, we made our way to the right side of the stage to try and get a better view before Clairo began her set.

Clairo is an artist I have been trying to see for a few years and I am so glad I was finally able to. Clairo is the stage name for singer/songwriter Claire Cottril. Clairo rose to prominence in 2017 during the emergence of the bedroom pop craze with her song “Pretty Girl.” After this success, she released an EP and her debut album “Immunity” featuring her biggest single “Bags.” Her second album “Sling” was released in 2021.

Her set was light and bouncy as she played through a mix of songs from both her albums showcasing her soft voice and intimate lyrics. Clairo’s stage presence is soft-spoken, but she was very grateful to the crowd, her bandmates, and boygenius for having her on this tour.

Though she wasn’t the headliner, as I enjoyed the show I could see fans singing along to her bigger songs, “4EVER,” “Amoeba,” and “North.” The last song she played was “Bags” which brought a wave of energy to the crowd. The atmosphere her music created was calming and perfect for the dusk beginning to settle over the park. The performance of the final song was musically captivating with flute solos and catchy guitar riffs. Her set was a great way to kick off the rest of the evening and I hope to see her live again soon.

At this point the anticipation for “the boys,” the band’s fan-given nickname, was palpable. I have become an avid listener of boygenius over the past couple of years and was right there with the rest of the crowd awaiting the performance.

boygenius is an indie-rock supergroup composed of 3 individual singer/songwriters who have all found success with their own music. The group formed in 2018 with members Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers, and Lucy Dacus. In the same year, they released a self-titled EP which received critical acclaim. Despite their different musical styles, the group prides itself on working together as women in an industry that so often pits female artists against each other. After a hiatus spent working on their solo careers the group decided to come together and created what has been deemed one of the greatest albums of the year, “the record.”

The band started the show off stage singing “Without You, Without Them;” the acapella album opener from “the record.” The song shows off their ability to create beautiful harmonies and how in sync the three artists are with each other. Once on stage, they kicked it up a notch by playing a grungy guitar-forward single from their latest album, "$20.” Toward the end of the song Phoebe Bridgers repeats the question “Can you give me $20” leading up to a guttural exclamation of “I know you have $20,” that the crowd joined in on in a moment of catharsis.

They then took a moment to address why Dacus was wearing sunglasses while it was getting dark out. With a light laugh she told us she was not just trying to “look cool,” but she had recently been concussed which required her to sit down for some songs.

boygenius continued their assertive opening to the show playing “Satanist.” They then slowed down the set with tear-jerking songs about the ups and downs of friendship including “Emily, I’m Sorry,” led by Bridgers, and “True Blue,” fronted by Dacus.

Fortunately, I was given a brief moment to collect myself after an emotional 6 and a half minutes as Julien Baker interjected that she had swallowed a bug after the previous song bringing a wave of laughter to the crowd. The band continued to joke with Bridgers asking who in the audience had a tummy ache which was met with a show of hands and cheers (including my own - apparently ice cream was not the best idea).

The jokes were necessary as the band started up again with “Cool About It” which depicts a story of reconnecting with someone you once were close to or had feelings for and the emotional turmoil that it leaves you with. While the lyrics were heavy on the heart, the musical accompaniment was reminiscent of a pleasant acoustic Simon & Garfunkel-style song.

Thus far, the band had been playing music from the new album. The first song from the 2018 EP they played was “Souvenir” which lightly alludes to “$20” mentioning the price of the souvenir. The band played through three more songs including a powerful Baker-led ballad, “Stay Down.”

Halfway through the set “the boys” gave each other their own spotlight to showcase a song from each of their solo catalogs. Lucy Dacus was the first to take center stage singing “Please Stay” followed by Baker performing her song “Favor,” and Bridgers playing “Graceland Too.” Hearing all three of their sounds alone made their collaborations that much more impressive as you are able to hear how they interwove their individual musicality into the music they’ve created together.

The audience then was treated to an unreleased song called “Boyfriends.” Once it was over, the introduction to the song that put the group on the map, “Me & My Dog,” began. The Bridgers-led song includes a bridge that longtime fans of the group hold dear. When it came time for that point in the song, the audience was singing along loudly with their hands in the air showcasing the impact and community the band’s music has made.

After this powerful performance, the band played three more songs from “the record,” including the poetic “We’re In Love.” “Me & My Dog” foil “Letter to an Old Poet” was next and Bridgers asked the audience to put down their phones. The song replaces the lyrics from the former tune, “I wanna be emaciated,” with “I want to be happy, I’m ready,” illustrating Bridgers’ emotional growth over the years.

They closed out the main part of the set with the hit single from “the record” “Not Strong Enough.” The song’s anthemic cry “I don’t know why I am the way I am,” rang through the crowd who sang the words along with the band. However, the boys were not finished.

After they headed off stage, the band came back for a 2 song encore from their 2018 EP. The first tune was acoustic-driven “Ketchum, ID” followed by a commanding performance of “Salt in the Wound,” in which Bridgers picked up Julien Baker while she played guitar and sat her on Dacus’ lap. At the end of the show, the boys lined up with their band for a final bow and wave to a cheering audience.

Overall, the festival was a great experience providing top-tier talent and a lovely atmosphere. boygenius was everything I wanted out of a live performance and more (and I did “cry at the show with the teenagers”).