When a video of Pharrell Williams heaping praise on Maggie Rogers went viral last year, the 22-year-old quickly became one of the most talked-about new artists. Twelve months on, Rogers is no longer a student but a full-time musician with a fervent online following, her magnetic folk-pop – and that big-name endorsement – having led to a major label deal and her first EP.
But how does such success translate into real life? Uncomfortably, initially: at the first of two sold-out London shows, Rogers is confident but initially drowned out by the crowd, so deafening are the cries of lyrics they’ve cribbed from YouTube.
She smartly regains control by interspersing viral hits with lesser-known fare: there’s Little Joys, which she wrote as a banjo-toting teen back in rural Maryland, and Hashtag, which tackles being “drenched in rage” the day Trump was elected. Elsewhere, Neil Young’s Harvest Moon gets a terrific, near-unrecognisable reimagining as an ambient dance track. Unsurprisingly, though, Rogers’ parting gifts are latest single On + Off, and Alaska, the track that led Williams to describe her as singular. “I’ve had the most wild, weird, wonderful year,” Rogers gushes before launching into it, remaining just the right side of earnest. “One of the things about the internet is that you don’t always get to thank the people who’ve made it all possible.”
Tonight she’s able not only to show her appreciation, but to demonstrate that her star burns brightly both off and online.
