Julien Baker grew up in a deeply religious family in a suburb of Memphis, Tennessee. While her early musical experiences were found in the church, and whatever was on the car radio, Julien grew to love emo bands, and then in high school discovered the Memphis DIY punk and hardcore scene in her band Forrister. Like a lot of kids, Julien started off with piano lessons, but it didn’t stick. A guitar found its way into her hands in her early teens, and it wasn’t long before she taught herself how to play. As a gay teenager growing up in the religious south, music was much more than a passion and a past time, it became a tool of identity, expression, and healing.

Her debut album Sprained Ankle was first self released as an EP in 2013 while she was in college, then re-released in 2015 to critical acclaim. It was immediately clear to all who heard and saw her perform, that Julien Baker is a rare and gifted artist, whose vulnerable and at times gut-wrenching songs could make crowded venues go pin-drop quiet. Soon Julien dropped out to tour and pursue music full time. In 2017 her Matador Records debut arrived, called Turn Out the Lights, which cemented her place as one of indie rock’s most revered artists of the decade. A supergroup project with Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus called boygenius followed in 2018.

Yet, with more and more success, Julien’s longtime sobriety faltered, and she took a step back from touring to pause, re-evaluate, complete her college degree, and ultimately, write and record her most brutally honest, most accomplished album to date, Little Oblivions, just released in February of this year. On the heels of this personal reckoning, this feels like an especially meaningful time to be looking back at her path, though we also have a whole lot of fun and plenty of spontaneous moments, as together we create Julien Baker’s Mixtape Memoir.

Credits:

Host/Creator - Carmel Holt @carmelholt @sheroesmixtape @sheroesradio
Producer, Engineer/Mixing/Mastering - Mitra Kaboli
Theme Music - Lucius @ilovelucius
Cover Illustration - Madalyn Stefanak @madalynstefanak
Guest: Julien Baker / @julienrbaker
Label: Matador Records / @matadorrecords