Maisie Peters, the good witch herself, visited her Canadian coven last week, casting enchantments and dancing away with her fellow witches. Peters, who is currently on a North American tour playing headline shows across the United States and Canada, performed for a packed room at History in Toronto in support of her new album The Good Witch.
Peters, who first played to around 300 people at her first gig in Toronto at The Velvet Underground, took the 2500 cap under her spell and make the room feel like she was playing Glastonbury again — her performance full of punchy and powerful hits like “Not Another Rockstar,” “I’m Trying (Not Friends)” and fan favourite “Lost The Breakup.” After hitting the road playing stadiums with Ed Sheeran, Maisie Peters has learned a thing or two about balancing a mix of entertaining a crowd while keeping things light and free.
Known for her straight-from-her-diary lyrics and knack for creating songs that weave both personal and universal themes throughout, Peters’ has garnered a fanbase of listeners who find solace and comfort in how she bluntly opens up about her experiences. One of the most touching moments of the night was during “There It Goes,” a song where Peters talks about finding strength and healing through things like flowers, going to yoga with her friends, and more, after a break-up. The crowd never overpowered Peters’ own voice, opting to be her own built-in background singers as she sang “The universe is shifting/And it’s all for me, all for me.”
Toronto was the first Canadian stop on the tour which, naturally, meant that “Cate’s Brother,” a song that mentions one of Peters’ Canadian friends and singer Cate Canning and became TikTok’s favourite tune, was a crowd pleaser. It’s just one chapter of what some fans would describe as “the Maisie Peters Cinematic History.” Like her fellow singer-songwriters that paved the way, Peters’ own lore is referenced by fans and her alike as she touches on how they share the same affinity to “John Hughes Movie,” a song she declares as one that helped shape their bond. With the medley of “Two Weeks Ago,” “Worst of You,” “You Signed Up For This” and a One Direction cover of “Night Changes,” Peters dipped into every era of her music and childhood with a nod to the famous boyband. Creating her own universe means to create characters and comrades that appear in her stories — the rockstar from “Not Another Rockstar,” the person who inspired her to write “I am both Kathy Bates and Stephen King” from “BSC,” and the band that shared the 12 bed bus with her on “The Band and I.”
As someone that took her best friend as her date, looking at the wide-eyed crowd — full of best friends and friends made in the line as they waited — the moment Peters hit the stage was an emotional scene. Peters’ crowd shares a special bond with each other; they dress up in “Wendy” costumes, they wear snarky and sweet tees in honour of “their mother,” and hold one another during the most tender moments. Music is one of the greatest ways to create a bond — a shared type of magic that brings people together and becomes the soundtrack of their lives. For the people who danced, sang, screamed and cheered every word that came out of Peters’ mouth, the concert will be one they remember as a shared memory — a momento of the evening, kept inside of them like a spell, brought up to remember exactly how they felt together.
Catch Maisie Peters on tour now.
photography. Sophie Scott
words.Kelsey Barnes
