“Thank you for making it to the end of the video game with me.”
On the road supporting her latest album Don’t Forget Me, 30 year-old alternative singer-songwriter Maggie Rogers played the tour’s biggest venue yet this week, an arena show at the Wells Fargo Center in South Philly.
She’s been there before, once to see John Mayer and another time to open up for Mumford and Sons in 2018. But this time, everyone in the 21,000 person capacity arena was there for her.
Maggie Rogers | photo by Danielle Ciampaglia for WXPN
During “Love You For A Long Time,” Rogers turned the camera onto the crowd for a kiss cam. From couple to couple, the love was palpable through the screens. A Maggie Rogers concert isn’t just about music and dancing, it’s about community and tenderness. Or maybe, music is about community and tenderness in general, and Rogers harnesses that. It all seemed to blend together into a pink aura of warmth and togetherness.
She covered the Roberta Flack classic “Killing Me Softly” while transitioning into “If Now Was Then.” In songs like this and “Say It,” she has a truly remarkable falsetto, and an ability to flip between her head and chest voice with a Joni Mitchell-like skill.
Maggie Rogers | photo by Danielle Ciampaglia for WXPN
In lieu of a B Stage, Rogers sat alone at a piano at the top of the catwalk. Lighting some incense, she sat there reminiscing about her history at this venue. She spent the morning at her high school an hour away in Delaware, thinking about the awkward, complicated feelings that comes with being a weird teenager. She took this moment to thank her teachers, many of whom were there and sitting right in front of me. There aren’t words strong enough for the elation felt in those rows, the pure joy and excitement at seeing Maggie on such a big stage, so humble.
Arenas are the final level of the video game Rock Band. Maggie joked on stage that her and her band have been comparing this tour to the game so many of us grew up on. The grown-up version of fake guitars and animated audiences. From small Philly shows and coffee shops in her hometown of Easton, Maryland to a night in front to this huge crowd, Maggie Rogers is glad that we made it to the game’s finale with her.