Phoebe Bridgers is turning Chicago's Adler Planetarium into a listening room this week, inviting fans to hear her new album under a dome full of star projections instead of through earbuds. The first three days of the experience are already sold out, but three time slots remain on August 14: 3:15 p.m., 5 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., with tickets priced at $40 each.
The event, running August 11 through 14 at the lakefront institution, is part of a worldwide rollout for Bridgers' third studio album, “Lost Weekend,” which drops on release day itself. As Block Club Chicago reports, Spotify and Bridgers are presenting the planetarium listening parties, and Bridgers herself described the concept simply: “come listen to the album field trip style.”
The Adler, sitting at 1300 S. DuSable Lake Shore Drive on Northerly Island, is no ordinary backdrop for a record release. Opened in May 1930 as the first planetarium built in the Western Hemisphere, it was designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark in 1987, according to Astronomy Magazine, and was originally funded through a $500,000 gift from businessman Max Adler.
What Fans Will See and Hear Under the Dome
Per the same account, the audio-visual experience will feature songs including “Other Plans” and “Lost Boys,” paired with nightscape visuals collected by astrophotographer Babak Tafreshi, a National Geographic night sky explorer and photographer. Tafreshi has spent the last two decades collecting nocturnal scenes, gathering footage from more than 20 countries, and the visuals shown at the Adler include scenes of the Northern Lights in Iceland and stars over Madagascar, per Block Club Chicago's report. The imagery contains no computer-generated elements, and the display draws on Tafreshi's dark-sky photography work, which Princeton University has highlighted for its scientific credentials.
The Adler's own website frames the show as an invitation for audiences to reflect on their connection to the universe and to celebrate the beauty of dark skies. Bridgers will not personally appear at the scheduled meetups, which are strictly listening-party experiences rather than performances, according to Block Club Chicago.
No Phones Allowed, Anywhere
Attendees should expect their phones to be locked into Yondr pouches for the duration of the event, a policy Block Club Chicago confirms is in place at the Adler sessions. That restriction extends well beyond Chicago: Ticketmaster notes that both the planetarium listening parties and Bridgers' upcoming arena tour require smartphones, smartwatches, and recording devices to be pouched at entry, with unauthorized use resulting in ejection. The phone-free approach traces back to the rollout's earliest days, when Bridgers staged a run of surprise acoustic pop-up shows across smaller U.S. cities in May and June, culminating in a $1 ticket show at Madison Square Garden, as BrooklynVegan reported. Hoodline previously covered one of those stops in its Hi-Tone Cafe pop-up story.
A Six-Year Wait and a Sixteen-Song Return
“Lost Weekend” is Bridgers' first solo studio album in six years, following 2020's “Punisher” and a stretch during which she picked up four Grammy Awards in 2024 for her work with supergroup Boygenius and collaborator SZA, as noted by The Guardian. The 16-song album was co-produced by Tony Berg, Ethan Gruska, Jack Antonoff, and Bridgers herself, with the lead single “Lost Boys” featuring background harmonies from Boygenius bandmates Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus, according to Rolling Stone Australia. Bridgers announced the full tracklist on Instagram ahead of the planetarium rollout.
The Adler is just one stop in a synchronized global campaign; Spotify and label Dead Oceans are bringing the same planetarium listening experience to more than 30 cities between August 10 and 14, including London, San Francisco, and Wellington, New Zealand, with each dome session running roughly an hour, per the Wellington Museum. Hoodline reported this week on the parallel event at San Francisco's Morrison Planetarium, where the facility rental is providing critical revenue for the California Academy of Sciences following recent staff layoffs, in its coverage of the SF listening party.
Next Stop: The United Center in September
Once the album drops, Bridgers will bring her full-band Lost Tour to Chicago's United Center for two nights on September 18 and 19, with support from indie artist Alex G. Hoodline previously detailed the tour's rollout in its Fort Worth tour announcement story. Across the North American leg of the tour, Bridgers is donating $1 from every ticket sold to RAINN, the nation's largest anti-sexual violence organization, supporting survivor resources and prevention programs.
It remains unclear whether the Adler will open additional August 14 time slots to meet demand, something partner planetariums in other markets have reportedly done as their sessions filled up. For now, Chicago fans hoping to hear “Lost Weekend” field-trip style have three chances left before the album reaches streaming services everywhere.
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