Maggie Rogers Comes Home

For the first time in a long time, I found myself at the Anthem last Monday night. Bringing out a sold-out crowd, hometown superstar Maggie Rogers lit up the DC Wharf perhaps better than I've ever seen in her first night back home; no doubt a sentimental leg of her ongoing national trek. No less than half hour after doors open, the line for admission wrapped around the pier, a sight Id surely never seen before. Joined by rising star Del Water Gap, these two musicians, and they're incredible bands, carved their names into the nightglow.

Like a whole lot of other people, Del Water Gap's "Ode to a Conversation Stuck in Your Throat" has been a staple in my Spotify listening for the better part of a year. Though that was my introduction to the impressive young singer, he showed me on this night that there is so much more to come; and that he is far from a flash in the pan. If there's any one thing that connects these two acts (aside from there decade-plus frienship), it's energy; Coming out the gates, [Gap] and the entire place were pumpin'; as Maggie’s time came near, the atmosphere only continued to swell.

If there's one thing I'm certain of after this show, it's that Maggie Rogers has soul, and gobs of it. Clad in a glistening black leather coat and sky blue dress with a fringed boa, Rogers ripped the stage as if it was her very own; and after that performance it damn well may be. Spinning and grooving her way through the set we all wished wouldn’t end, there was no doubt just how special a performer [Rogers] is. Unsurprisingly, all the hits smashed the house, "Want Want", "Light On", "Alaska", but let it be known, there wasn't a single stand still moment for this crowd; start to finish, every song reached someone.

As I get back into the swing of things, I’m grateful to have shows like this; to remind me why I do this, and why I just can’t get enough of the noise and lights and moments too big for normal waking life. Here’s to the next one around the corner, and all that lies beyond.