Maggie Rogers | Milwaukee, WI
In early February 2023, Maggie Rogers visited Milwaukee and played a 2,480-seat venue. On Saturday, June 8th, she returned to Milwaukee and played to more than double the fans at a sold-out show at the BMO Pavilion with the Don’t Forget Me Tour with The Japanese House. If she continues on this trajectory, fans won’t be forgetting her any time soon.
The Japanese House started the show strong with spot-on vocals, playing many songs from their latest release In the End It Always Does. Their intimate, sometimes depressing lyrics juxtaposed with the upbeat, danceable beats make for a unique experience.
When Maggie Rogers rose on a lift from beneath the stage, some fans in the pit had been queuing for over eight hours, but it was worth it given her stand out performance. From the first note, Rogers commanded the stage with her evocative and angelic vocals, energetic dancing, and her genuine, effervescent personality.
She opened the set with the first four tracks off her new album - “It Was Coming All Along,” “Drunk,” “So Sick of Dreaming,” and “The Kill.” In addition to playing nearly all tracks from Don’t Forget Me, the set also included many crowd favorites from Surrender and Heard It In a Past Life as well, charming new and old fans alike.
The show was one highlight after another, but some favorite moments included:
During “So Sick of Dreaming,” Rogers changed the mention of Knicks tickets to Bucks tickets to which the crowd responded by chanting, “The Bucks lost!”
During “Love You For a Long Time,” a Kiss Cam appeared on screen, showing couples of all genders kissing on screen to the cheers of the crowd, which was very fitting, as the show took place at the same time as Milwaukee’s Pride Fest.
During the introduction of “I Still Do,” the PrideFest fireworks went off, to which Rogers claimed that it was a funny time for fireworks because “...this one is incredibly sad” and about the “...end of a relationship...” which can be “so joyful and powerful, and maybe the fireworks are symbol of making space for what’s on the way.” She was right - the fireworks added power and even more emotion to an already emotional, acoustic song.
After a brief encore, Rogers returned to the stage and closed out the show with title track “Don’t Forget Me” and a beautiful cover of Damien Rice’s “Cannonball.” Next time Maggie Rogers comes to town, buy your tickets and buy them early. She won’t be forgotten and should not be missed.
