CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT THE ACTS WE CAUGHT AT LUCK REUNION 2025!
SPICEWOOD, TX- There are few things that get me more excited than witnessing a collaboration come to life on stage—and seeing Julien Baker and TORRES perform together at Luck Reunion this year was exactly that. I’ve been a Julien Baker fan since Sprained Ankle… way before the Boygenius wave put her name on every indie playlist. That debut album hit me like a freight train, so much so that I bought two vinyl copies: one to play and one to preserve. Her raw, vulnerable intensity has always pulled me in, and even in her quietest solo acoustic performances, she’s made the hairs on my arms stand up.
I wasn’t as familiar with TORRES when I first heard they’d be performing together, but a TikTok clip of “Sugar in the Tank” changed that. The track’s sly energy and biting delivery caught my attention, and I knew this pairing could be something special. What I didn’t expect was just how naturally their voices and styles would blend, and how joyful their chemistry would be in person.
Their set at Willie Nelson’s ranch for Luck Reunion was exactly what you’d hope for: wonderful harmonies, easy banter, and a stripped-down blend of country-tinged arrangements that evoked the magic of Trio—the iconic collaboration between Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, and Linda Ronstadt. You could feel the inspiration without it ever feeling derivative. Baker and TORRES took country back to its roots, leaning into storytelling, emotion, and harmony without the gloss.
To the best of my recollection, they played through all the songs from their collaborative album (though not in album order), and the transitions between tracks were as seamless as their voices. The interplay between Julien’s softer, emotionally naked delivery and TORRES’ more grounded vocal tone gave each song dimension. Their chemistry onstage was undeniable—playful, flirty, and full of mutual admiration. They joked between songs, tossed compliments, and made the audience feel like they were sitting in on a late-night living room jam session.
In addition to their original material, they offered up a couple of surprising and deeply appreciated covers: Merle Haggard’s “Mama Tried” and Tim McGraw’s “Something Like That.” Upon retrospect, hearing these songs through the voices of two queer women was pretty cool. I had to look up the lyrics to both songs, but “Mama Tried” took on an unexpected resonance. Lines like “I turned 21 in prison doin’ life without parole” felt like a metaphor for the way societal norms can trap those who live outside the mold. And “Something Like That,” usually remembered for its straight-ahead, male perspective nostalgia, felt newly tender, even subversive, with their delivery. When sung by two women, the lyrics took on a duality that celebrated queer joy hidden in plain sight.
Sadly, Julien had to cancel the duo’s planned tour earlier this year due to health reasons, but I sincerely hope this project has more life ahead. The world needs to hear these songs live. What they created at Luck Reunion was the kind of intimate, genre-blurring magic, in my humble opinion, that is needed now more than ever in live music.
If this performance proved anything, it’s that Julien Baker and TORRES are more than the sum of their parts. Together, they embody a kind of brave, queer vulnerability that honors country music’s storytelling tradition while pushing its emotional boundaries into new, necessary places.
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LIVE CLIPS
CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT THE ACTS WE CAUGHT AT LUCK REUNION 2025!
