These days, Julien Baker makes tender and beautiful music, both on her own and as a member of Turnstile. But Baker got her start in the DIY punk and hardcore scenes in Memphis, and I’ve seen her play live in a Terror shirt. In recent years, Baker has guested on records from heavier bands like Touché Amoré, Fucked Up, and, most recently, the Armed. Two years ago, Baker sang on “Underwater Boi,” one of the prettier songs on Turnstile’s instant-classic album Glow On. Today, for what I’m pretty sure was the first time, Baker joined Turnstile onstage to sing that song.

Both Turnstile and boygenius were on today’s bill at the massive French festival Rock En Seine. During Turnstile’s set, Julien Baker came out to sing “Underwater Boi” with the band, hitting the alternating harmonies with frontman Brendan Yates and getting physically into the whole thing. It’s always fun to watch Julien Baker get wild and energetic. When she’s doing her own stuff, she doesn’t really get to do that, at least not in the same way. There are a couple of videos of the “Underwater Boi” performance up online, and you can watch them below.

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT8FTSDCB/

A couple of weeks ago, Turnstile threw out the first pitch at an Orioles game and got together with BADBADNOTGOOD to release New Heart Designs, an EP of reworked Glow On tracks.