On March 9, Maisie Peters’s fans traveled through the snow “on the red line,” of course, to her sold out Sinclair show in Cambridge, MA.
Despite the stormy weather, the vibe inside the venue was warm and welcoming. Maisie fans buzzed about reuniting with and meeting internet friends for the first time.
It wasn’t long before rising artist and opener, Jonah Kagen took the stage with his band. You wouldn’t know it, but that night was his sixth show ever. His interactions with the audience were genuine and his performances of songs like “Broken” were captivating.
After Jonah’s glowing review of Maisie, the crowd was ready to see the West Sussex artist.
The lights dimmed as a nostalgic tour video diary flashed on the screen upstage. The audience sang along to every word of the video’s “You Signed Up For This” soundtrack.
As the video faded out, in very Maisie fashion, Taylor Swift’s “We Are Never Getting Back Together” welcomed her to the stage.
Warmed up from the tour diary sing along, fans helped Maisie kick things off with her debut album’s title track “You Signed Up For This.”
Her fans were a central part of the show, whether it was to harmonize or provide content for Maisie’s quick-witted humor.
Before her song, “Outdoor Pool,” Maisie took a moment to read fan-made signs peppered throughout the audience. Signs read “If you’re looking for the girl of your dreams…she’s in Boston with me” and “…hope my Dad don’t wake up because I’m going feral with Maisie.”
Maisie, the queen of empowering heartbreak anthems, invited the audience to share their heartbreak stories. A girl toward the front shared that a guy she had been talking with told her he loved her and then blindsided her by getting back together with his ex. Without skipping a beat, Maisie said, “Do you know what we call that in the UK? A twat.”
Maisie danced through her 13 song set, including tracks from her album, throwbacks like “Place We Were Made,” and “Love Him I Don’t,” a favorite of hers off the album.
After performing her unreleased song “Pretty Girls Like Star Signs,” Maisie said, “That’s enough sad, let’s do manslaughter,” before erupting into “Volcano.”
The night wasn’t without some Maisie anecdotes, including her drummer, Jack’s discovery of Wordle and her frustration with the viral online game. “Let’s normalize being bad at Wordle,” Maisie told the crowd.
Under glowing red lights, she also shared a comedic untold story of how her keyboardist, Tina schemed to get Maisie and her “high-school sweetheart ex” back together, which just ended in a reach for a cigarette mistaken for a hand hold.
Maisie ended the night with her encore, “John Hughes Movie.”
“We’re a long way from home, but it doesn’t feel like it,” Maisie told the energized crowd. After laughing and singing together all night, it was impossible not to feel a sense of community and honor of getting to say we knew her when.
