All three members of boygenius had a ridiculously huge year in 2023, and the group said that they’d be “going away for the foreseeable future” after this year’s Grammy weekend. For the most part, that’s what they’ve done, both as a group and as solo artists. Of the three members, Julien Baker has probably been the busiest and most visible. Baker popped up at a Nashville soccer game and at the National’s Kennedy Center orchestral show. She sang the theme song for Orphan Black: Echoes. She’s collaborated with Thomas Powers and Touché Amoré, and she’ll cover Belle And Sebastian on the upcoming benefit compilation TRAИƧA. On Monday night, Baker played her first proper solo gig in a couple of years, and she debuted a new song.

Earlier this year, Julien Baker announced plans for a series of solo shows — not a tour exactly, but something similar. She’ll play the All Things Go festivals in Maryland and New York, and she’ll hit a few relatively small venues in major cities. On Monday night, Baker played the first of those shows, the opening of a three-night run at Chicago’s Thalia Hall. Baker played with a full band, though she did some songs solo. She gave live debuts to a couple of her tracks — the 2019 non-album song “Conversation Piece” and the Little Oblivions cut “Crying Wolf.”

Right in the middle of her set, Julien Baker debuted a new track that’s reportedly called “Middle Children.” In footage from the show, the song comes off as the kind of big, sweeping orchestral rocker that could’ve made for one of the more stirring moments on Little Oblivions. Below, check out videos of Baker playing “Middle Children” and “Conversation Piece,” as well as last night’s setlist, via Setlist.fm.

Tonight, @julienrbaker kicked off her tour with the first of three consecutive nights at @ThaliaHallChi. There were a lot of highlights, but one of them was definitely the live debut of a song that’s apparently called Middle Children. Here’s a clip! #julienbaker #boygenius pic.twitter.com/xDneP34z0l

— Alex K (@AvKv85) September 24, 2024

@mattyhealysmellss she looks so happy #julienbaker #boygenius #boygeniustiktok #boygeniustherecord #lucydacus #phoebebridgers #julienbakertour #julienbakersuperiority #lucydacusedit #phoebebridgerstok #viral #viralvideo #fyp #fypシ #foryoupage #concerts #taylorswift #music #phoebebridgersconcert ♬ original sound – mattyhealysmells

SETLIST:
01 “Guthrie” (solo)
02 “Bloodshot”
03 “Conversation Piece”
04 “Shadowboxing”
05 “Funeral Pyre”
06 “Sprained Ankle”
07 “Ziptie”
08 “Something” (solo)
09 “Song In E” (solo)
10 “Crying Wolf”
11 “Middle Children”
12 “Tokyo”
13 “Red Door”
14 “Relative Fiction”
15 “Appointments”
/////
16 “Turn Out The Lights”
17 “Ringside”
18 “Hardline”