Written and Photos by Bang Ho
Maggie Rogers’ The Forget Me Not Tour, pt II kicked off in Austin, proving that Austin truly is spoiled. I’ve known that Maggie has had an amazing voice since about 2016/2017, but I was not ready for everything that was the first Maggie arena show. It didn’t really sink in, as she has been blowing up for some time now and seems larger than life. She came out of the gate hard on her arena tour with her first song being “That’s Where I Am” (which she ended her Coachella set of 2022 with). A few songs in, and there was no doubt in my mind that an arena is just *the* perfect place for someone who has mastered their craft with such a full and rich sound. It helps that she and the six-piece band alike are extremely talented; she was backed by two drummers, two guitarists, a bassist, and a keyboardist. What sound did she not explore and serve on the eighteen-song set plus one for the encore? At times, the band had a folk-pop sound, other times it was soft rock heaven, and at others, it was Female Rage the musical. One thing is sure though, it was raw unfiltered pure emotion the whole ride. She dedicated “Love You for a Long Time” to anyone that attended her 2017 SXSW show and also had a kiss cam going through the audience much akin to a large sporting event. At one point, a piano appeared at the end of the catwalk stage and she played I Still Do prefaced with a hilarious story of how she saw Usher perform the night before at this stage, and how she met him at a party while roller skating. Maggie was smiling pretty much throughout the whole performance and dancing all over the place, and it was difficult to tell if the audience or Maggie had a better time that night.
