Maggie Rodgers
Maggie Rogers has a master’s degree in community, no really. The exact verbiage of the Harvard graduate degree she acquired in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, is Masters of Religion and Public Life, with a focus on the spirituality of public gatherings and the ethics of power in pop culture. This was not just a vanity degree for her, as her most recent Don’t Forget Me Tour demonstrates how she applies her academic findings to foster community among her fans.
Rogers’ community-centric tour began with “Box Office Week”, where fans lined up around the block to buy discounted tickets, capturing the spirit of togetherness from the very start. At select shows, Maggie Rogers sold tickets to fans herself. Before the release of her most recent record, Don’t Forget Me, Rogers organized listening parties in dive bars nationwide, allowing fans to get an exclusive preview and more importantly, connect. Each night on the tour has had either a “pre-game,” officially sanctioned tailgate, or “post-show party.” Rogers has hosted several “intimate shows,” like the recent 1,200-capacity theater performance in Nashville, coinciding with the box-office day for her upcoming 20,000-capacity arena show in October. During these shows, Rogers asks the audience for “tea” in exchange for playing songs at their request.
In a music industry oversaturated with viral moments, what separates a one-hit-wonder from a career artist is devout fans with an unwavering sense of belonging. Authentic connection from artist to fan is a key component of this magical formula.
At her Atlanta show at the Ameris Bank Amphitheater on June 11th, Rogers took a heartfelt moment to thank the crowd, sharing insights into her creative process and the support she feels from her fans. Normally, the artist takes time to process her emotions and the events that inspire them before she decides to put pen to paper, much less release a body of work, but with her third full-length record, that was not the case. She has had to find ways to process while on tour, and the community that her fans have brought has brought her a sense of peace on the road.
The album itself was written over five days. The record has a sense of yearning for the past and simultaneous enthusiasm for the future. It hosts rare moments of bitterness from Rogers, who typically opts for the high road. Songs like “It was Coming All a Long” let fans into Rogers’ less mature thoughts, refreshing glimpses into private moments with friends, while maintaining a grander perspective on life and its tribulations.
With this record, Maggie Rogers is comfortable in her skin. From night to night the set list sees substantial change, keeping Rogers free to express herself. She explained playing songs for the first time scares her, which is precisely why she does it. She ended her set with a never-before-seen cover of Bonnie Raitt’s “I Can't Make You Love Me.” The entire show was laden with Rogers’ soulful and nostalgic tone. Somewhere in the process of creating her sophomore album, Rogers found new power in her voice and had no hesitation in showing it off in her live show. She reimagined many of her songs to include impressive vocal runs and strong belts that shocked even long-time fans.
While the majority of the show was from her newest record, which received high praise from Pitchfork and earned her a spot on Rolling Stone’s “Best Albums of 2024 So Far” list, she made sure to include music from each body of work. “Dog Years” from her EP written for a college thesis during her time at NYU’s Clive Davis Institute was one of the songs rotated into the setlist for the Atlanta stop of the tour.
Whatever meaning was originally intended by “Light On,” a fan favorite from Rogers’ debut Heard It in a Past Life, has now completely dissolved. Now the song has an unspoken, but well- known meaning between Rogers and the audience. As a sea of lights wave in the crowd, Rogers promises fans she’ll be around as long as they’ll have her by singing “if you leave a light on, I’ll leave the light on.” The crowd’s laughter, tears, and cheers throughout Rogers’ show reaffirm that she will indeed remain unforgettable to her devoted fans. Words and photos by Georgia Lingerfelt, @glcreates