Maggie Rogers at the Budweiser Stage

Photos by Lucy Sky

There is a Maggie Rogers vibe. It’s part indie, part pop, it’s catchy melodies with singable choruses, it’s breezy summer nights and wistful daydreams. It’s a space where women can be complex and accomplished while commanding attention and holding an audience rapt with charm. And, it’s quite delightful.

After a short set by American singer-songwriter Soccer Mommy, the seats slowly filled up with Maggie Rogers devotees. Rogers opened the show with Anywhere With You and the up-tempo Want Want from her latest album, Surrender. Dressed in a short, blue flowy outfit and take-no-prisoners shiny black boots, even Rogers’ attire hinted at the many facets of her musical personality. With two studio albums to date, Rogers cleverly presented her new, unreleased songs in a way designed to draw fans in; the lyrics were projected onto the screen behind her – a tactic that instantly made the new tunes seem more familiar. Of course, the artist is only one part of show; the audience, the venue and sometimes, even the weather can impact how a show feels. Six or seven songs into the set, the wind picked up making the crowd increasingly aware of the impending storm. As lightning flashed across the sky in the distance, Rogers informed fans that the next scheduled song was called Begging for Rain, “If we’re gonna beg for rain, I want it to be a collective decision”, she laughed. The crowd was on board, we begged and Mother Nature answered. An unexpected intermission resulted, and the harsh house lights instantly broke the spell that Rogers and her band had skillfully conjured.

As it happens, Mother Nature must be a Maggie Rogers fan, so with the worst of the storm out of the way, the band returned 25 minutes later and picked things up with Falling Water. (Who can resist a perfectly positioned song title?) The second half of the show moved at a quick pace and the customary encore was rolled into the set as the skies were still threatening. Rogers paused to recap her origin story, acknowledging the power of a viral video clip. The person who had taken it upon himself to isolate her college interaction with Pharrell Williams and post it on Reddit – where it caught fire – was in attendance and received a well-deserved shout out. The night ended with three crowd-pleasing jams Alaska, Light On and That’s Where I Am proving that the Maggie Rogers vibe is infectious and well worth checking out.

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Be sure to check out Embrace Presents to see what other great acts they will be bringing to Toronto this year.