MAGGIE ROSE AT EVANSTON SPACE
BY MARY ICENOGLEMaggie Rose, accompanied by opener Fancy Hagood at Evanston SPACE for a Saturday night show, brought out a rowdy crowd that made me feel like I had been transported to a musician performing in a bar on Nashville’s infamous Broadway Street. As soon as Fancy Hagood took to the stage, the crowd was whooping, hollering, and whistling, in a way I hadn’t seen a Chicago crowd do before.
The queer artist, with vocals from heaven and an acoustic guitar to go with it, hails from Nashville and has been on the No One Gets Out Alive tour with Maggie Rose for the last few months (which, in the artist’s own words, has felt like years). With a calm, and slightly cheeky, demeanor, I wasn’t sure what to expect but was blown away the moment he opened his mouth and began belting. One of my favorite songs that he performed was Southern Curiosity, which explored his experience being queer and growing up with the south. With only one album out so far, and a sophomore album on the way, I can’t wait to see what more comes.
With a short time to breathe after Fancy’s set, the crowd was eager with anticipation. Many in the crowd were already sporting ‘Maggie Rose’ t-shirts and the woman next to me spoke excitedly about the show, drawing comparisons between Maggie Rose and other high caliber ‘divas.’ The man next to me had traveled from Minneapolis to see her, so the bar was set high with so many die-hard fans in the crowd. As the lights dimmed and the suspenseful introduction track began, another round of hoots and hollers came from the audience. She immediately launched into Dead Weight, a powerful performance that immediately made me realize how she drew so many to her and surpassed the high bar set by her fans.
The entire show, Maggie Rose did not slow down. Her stage presence filled the room, with high-energy jumping, dancing, and encouragement to the crowd, all paired with the voice of an angel. Highlights of the show included Saint, Fake Flowers (which immediately went on my summer playlist), and No One Gets Out Alive.
