Seeing Maggie Rogers perform her most recent album “Surrender” live was a no-brainer. As a long-time fan, I know Maggie is a flagship for vulnerability, reverence for music, nature, and all things raw.
After her first tour, when Rogers sought tranquillity at her family home in Coastal Maine, the darkness of 2020 – politically, culturally, and environmentally – conjured up a new sound inside Maggie. She produced Surrender while studying at Harvard Divinity School during a transitional period in her life and the world. The title of her record shares the title of her thesis.
OK McCausland for The New York Times.
The 28-year-old American singer-songwriter wrote noisy songs with feral joy, the title of her tour, which she describes as “joy out of rebellion” or “joy with teeth.” Writing from a place of isolation and heartache, she craved the raw human energy and connectedness of New York, where she found her identity as an artist. Surrender is black and white 70’s New York, and it is the cultural reset we all needed. Seeing her live was an answered prayer from those times.
It meant asking questions like: How can performance be a conduit for a transcendental experience?’
Quinn Moreland for Pitchfork on Maggie Rogers graduate program at Harvard Divinity School.
WHO IS MAGGIE ROGERS?
Maggie boomed into the spotlight in 2016 while she was attending New York University studying music when a video went viral of her impressing Pharrell with song “Alaska”. Since then, she’s blossomed. Pharrell was so moved because Alaska musically reflects Maggie’s influential life experiences, making it stand out. “Alaska” samples sounds from nature, folky vocals and instruments, with a French dance music twist. Coming from a childhood in rural Maryland, Maggie played banjo music, grew up going to summer camp, and had a transformative experience in Alaska. She studied abroad in France studying dance music.
ON TO THE SHOW
When Rogers announced her Summer US tour, she did something that hasn’t been the norm since 1965. She surprised her fans with the old-school option to buy tickets in person at local box offices for one day only. Rogers made this happen to protest online ticket sites, including fees and inflated prices. In her effort to get tickets in the hands of her fans, Maggie brought the raw human connection she craved in making the album to the fans standing in line. The surprise resonated with her faithful fans and excited me to go.
The seats I got for this show were the closest I’ve ever been at Ascend Amphitheater.
Maggie’s reverence for live performance is apparent in her dancing, her body illuminating grace and excitement. Maggie moved freely on stage with infectious feral joy. She had the same spiritual presence I saw at her last Nashville in 2019 at Marathon Music Works, but her voice was strong, moving into lower registers than ever before. Opening with “Anywhere With You”, she brought high energy that made everyone want to get up and dance with her! When singing a soulful version of “Say It,” her whole being seemed to be in tune with the divine, swaying and snapping with the rhythm. My favorite part of the show was when she played unreleased songs with the lyrics appearing on a screen behind her. My favorite piece was “So Sick of Dreaming”, an unreleased song. She lets the music move through her and dances like no one is watching.
I was sad because no one in my section was dancing, and I kept getting strange looks for dancing! However, I was happy the rest of the crowd came through with the lights. My ticket without fees put me in a section close to the stage, but maybe the Lawn crowd is meant for me.
Surrender is significant to me because it was released while I was living in the small surf village of El Paredón, Guatemala. At the time, my phone had just been stolen, and a cat had chewed through my laptop charger, so I borrowed a charger from a friend, went to a palapa overlooking the ocean, and played the album for a solo dance party.
My favorite songs of the night were “Say It”, “Be Cool”, and “Begging For Rain”. She was strong, resilient, hip popping like Brittney, and dancing around on stage in her leotards.
Click ‘SURRENDER TO MAGGIE PLAYLIST’ for a personally curated playlist in the order of her set list! Happy Friday
BOOGIE WITH EMMA 