On Thursday night, she played her first show in Vancouver. A sold-out night at the fabulous Commodore Ballroom, but don’t fret if you missed out because she has a second show already booked at the Orpheum Theatre on October 13th.
The festivities kicked off with the beautiful guitar work of American R&B musician Melanie Faye flowing through the air. Her fingers danced up and down the neck of her baby blue and white Fender. She was humble in her demeanor but emblazoned with her delivery, a great juxtaposition. This petite person delivering wave after wave of attitude laced soulful string singing.
If you don’t know Ms. Faye, you need to go check her out right now. She is delightful and you should do yourself a favor by getting to know her work.
After a brief window to go replenish my drink and purchase a tour poster from the merchandise booth, I raced back to the stage to watch Ms. Rogers and her band confidently storm out on to the stage with the Abba hit Dancing Queen playing in the background.
The entire venue was already singing and dancing along just from that entrance music alone.
The twenty-four year old Maryland-native singer took her position at the center of the stage and without much hesitation jumped into the set.
It was immediately intense.
She danced around the stage with the ferocity of a hurricane, spinning her body and whipping her hair about.
The music was bouncy and contagious. Topped with her invigorating vocals and hypnotically happy personality, it was impossibly not to get swept up in the energy.
The venue became one giant dance hall. People left their seats and pushed as close to the stage as they could, smiling and wide-eyed with excitement.
The hype behind this musical Maggie had me cautious when I first planned on attending this show. I didn’t know what to expect and worried that all the industry hoopla behind her would be overboard, but I was pleasantly proven wrong. Her set was wrought with emotion and managed to carry a danceable energy that satiated every soul in the room.
From the echo-laden power track “Burning” to the hauntingly beautiful “Fallingwater”, it was a night with no steps back only giant leaps forward.
Maggie Rogers is a rare gem. Grab on to her star now and never let go, her future holds an adventure that the world needs to be apart of.
Thank you to all the musicians and their teams for a fantastic night out.
