Feral Joy: Maggie Rogers Brings A Night Of Incredible Music To Radio City

Posted On February 21, 2023

Samantha Colleran, February 2023

Maggie Rogers is a major reason I began this blog. I’ve talked about it multiple times before, but for those of you who are new, my second semester of college I had to write a series of papers on an album that was released within 12-18 months of the class and I chose to do mine on Maggie’s Heard It In A Past Life which had been released the year prior to me taking the class. This series of papers inspired me to begin writing about music, and a month into the pandemic I started up  VIBING ON VINYL. I’ve been a fan of Maggie for a while now, and I finally got to see her live for the first time on February 15. Putting into words how much this show means to me has been a bit of a challenge; there’s too much I want to say but not nearly enough time in the world or words that can truly express my emotions. I’ve come up with this post and I hope it allows you to understand even just a hint of the magic I had the privilege of witnessing on Wednesday. 

Opening the show was Del Water Gap (Sam Holden Jaffe), a longtime friend of Maggie’s. The ten song set consisted of tracks from the self titled album released in 2021, as well as an unreleased song that is set to be on their upcoming album. My mom described it perfectly when she said Del Water Gap sounds like great driving music; the lyrics are very quick to catch onto and the instrumentals are upbeat and fun. Sam moved around the stage in a Freddie Mercury-esque cape and captivated the crowd for a half hour or so, a perfect way to kick off such an incredible night of music. 

With a healthy balance of songs from Surrender, previously released albums Heard It In A Past Life and Notes From the Archive, as well as one off single “Love You For A Long Time” (which Maggie dedicated to New York City for the night), Maggie made her return to the Radio City stage feel as though she had never left. My personal highlights of the night were my favorite Surrender track “Shatter”, “Anywhere With You” (singing along to the lyric “You tell me you want everything, you want it fast/ But all I’ve ever wanted is to make something fucking last” felt like therapy) and “I’ve Got A Friend” which will never fail to make me cry when I think of how much I love my best friend. 

The one thing that completely blew me away about Maggie’s stage presence is how effortlessly she was able to control her voice. During opening track “Overdrive”, Maggie strutted out in a sparkly black skirt and a plain white tank top and began belting out the most beautiful notes I’ve ever heard live. For the next two songs (“Want Want” and “Say It”) my jaw was on the floor. Her ability to control her voice was off the charts and it made all the time I’ve spent waiting to see her worth it. 

Playing a show at a venue as meaningful as Radio City is to Maggie and her career (it’s the stage where “Alaska” was played for the first time ever on stage during her graduation), there were bound to be surprises. A couple of songs before the encore, Maggie was joined by one of her musical heroes, David Byrne, and they did a fantastic cover of Byrne’s “Strange Overtones”. Del Water Gap joined Maggie on stage to perform their 2014 duet “New Song”, which was released in 2020 as part of Maggie’s Notes From The Archive album. The two were electric on stage together; their voices blend perfectly together and there’s no denying how in tune they are musically, I know it felt just as magical for them to perform as it did to watch it live. 

For the final two songs of the night, Maggie performed “Fallingwater” and “Different Kind Of World”. “Fallingwater” was one of the first songs I heard by Maggie, hearing it live felt like a full circle moment. Before performing “Different Kind Of World”, Maggie shared a sentiment about the world being a scary place, but people coming together to appreciate live music and celebrate the beauty in said music is what truly matters most. The song starts off soft, then the band comes in and plays with their entire hearts. For the final few moments of the song they silently make their way off stage as Maggie vocalizes while strumming her guitar. “When we’re riding all together… it’s a different… I’m a different kind of girl”, she sings gently into the mic before taking her final bow. Seven years ago Maggie performed “Alaska” at her NYU graduation, now she’s selling out the same venue and performing songs off of her sophomore album; she’s a different girl, the world is a little different, but one thing that remains is her passion for performing and the drive to continue creating and sharing masterpieces with the world. 

Maggie Rogers is a force of nature; she’s meant to be on stage belting her heart out in sparkly skirts and boas and sharing her talents of songwriting and performing with eager crowds. I simply could not have asked for a better way to kick off my stint of 2023 concerts, this one will remain at the top of my list for a long time. Thank you to every single person who put in the time, work, love, and energy into making this show unforgettable, especially Maggie. New York will always have you, come back soon!