PHOEBE Bridgers has taken the roll-out for her new album Lost Weekend into outer space — and, for one night in Armagh, into total silence from notifications too.

Ahead of the record’s release on Friday, fans packed Armagh Planetarium for a rare early listen: a 16-track, audio-visual show combining the album with curated nocturnal scenes created by National Geographic night-sky photographer Babak Tafreshi. It’s an immersive set-up, and it comes with one strict rule — phones go into a magnetised pouch that can only be opened once the show ends.

Armagh is one of only two UK venues chosen for the event, alongside Glasgow. The Northern Irish stop has already hosted four sold-out showings on Tuesday, with another four scheduled for Thursday.

Lost Weekend is Bridgers’ first solo album in six years, following 2020’s Punisher. In the time since, she recorded and toured with Grammy Award-winning supergroup boygenius, and she has also spoken about navigating grief after her father’s death. The new record is dedicated to her father.

Some lyrics reference Bridgers’ engagement and eventual break-up with Irish actor Paul Mescal, while critics have described the album in glowing terms — from a “daring exploration of love, grief and renewal” to “staggering and stirring”.

Inside the 80-strong first screening in Armagh, sisters Eibhlin and Emma summed it up with a blunt verdict: “Amazing.” They’d only heard one song going in, describing the rest as “completely fresh and new”, with visuals that sometimes clicked tightly with the music and lyrics. Others travelled serious miles for the chance — including Kev from County Meath and Abbie and Scott from County Waterford — with Scott quipping: “Sure, what else would you be at on a Tuesday night?”

Armagh Planetarium’s Heather Alexander said demand was like nothing she’d seen before, calling it an honour to be included alongside venues across the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand — and hoping more major artists follow Bridgers’ lead with immersive, phone-free album experiences.