By Austin Price, Editor-in-Chief
Heartbreak, betrayal, insanity, and love. All these things are prominent in a perfect blend of punk rock and soulful testimony through the music of Maise Peters. Maisie Hannah Peters is a 23-year-old English singer-songwriter. She has released a total of 66 songs (which she proudly recognizes as the devil’s number), two albums, and the soundtrack for the British comedy, Trying. With a lifelong love of music fueling her art, Maisie is a creative that integrates magic, reality, joy, and grief through her work.
After watching her perform, I would distinguish her work and energy as a performer as a better, British version of Avril Lavigne. No offense Avril, you know I love me some ear blasting repeat of “Girlfriend”. But I must admit, Maisie’s passion for her work and the work of her band, and her pixie-like personality are irresistible and admirable. For a small stature of 5’1”, with a slim frame and cat-like eyes, Maisie makes her presence known through her powerhouse vocals and badass dancing as well as her personal connection with the crowd.
Maisie enters the stage in style. Photo by Austin Price.
Maisie’s 2nd album, The Good Witch is fantasy themed and combines childlike wonder with young adult angst in a perfect melody, no pun intended. It was released on June 23rd, 2023, by Gingerbread Man Records and Asylum Records. It is currently available for listening on all major music streaming platforms including Apple Music, Spotify, Pandora, and YouTube Music. The Good Witch is a unique album because of the combined focuses and multitude of inspirations. Maise uses Greek Mythology as a pivotal form of inspiration and describes it as her "twisted version" of a break-up album. In addition to these themes, Maisie wrote the album over the duration of a year while on her last tour for her album You Signed Up for This and says that the chronological track listing reflects her career highs and personal lows. She promotes the album and the personal timeline it follows through posts of tarot cards on her social media pages, each representing a track on the album. She explains that she wants listeners to understand the meanings behind the songs, as well as see into the process of making them.
Maisie addresses her fans by explaining her creative process behind the album. Photo by Austin Price.
The concert took place at the Ogden Theater in downtown Denver. This was my first time ever attending a show at the Ogden Theater. The Ogden Theater is in the heart of downtown at 935 E Colfax Ave, Denver, CO 80218, and surrounded by bars and small theaters. As a woman who attended the show alone, I must admit, you must be aware of your surroundings and alert while in the area. This is not based on the crowd of the concert, but rather the urban and overcrowded atmosphere of the surrounding businesses. My advice is to get there early, park close, and stay inside the building. The theater does not have seating and the audience is standing the entirety of the concert. I also recommend standing near a security guard, and close to the exit once inside the theater. I hate that these are things I must say, but this is the world we live in, and I want to make you aware of the environment of the venue. Ladies, stay safe.
The concert was on Thursday, September 7th at 8 p.m. After the opening act, Maisie officially began singing at 9 p.m. and the concert ended around 11pm, after an encore for the artists. I arrived at the concert at 7:45 p.m. and was checked in and good to go by 7:55 p.m. The opening act began at exactly 8 p.m. which was surprising. That was the first concert I’ve ever been to that started on time. I feel like that will also be the last.
The opening act was a heart wrenching, acoustic performance by indie singer, Grace Enger, with a vibe like the many breakup songs of Taylor Swift. Grace seemed like a mellow, unusual choice for the spunky, rebellious style of Maisie. However, the recurring theme between both artists was that of new relationships, breakups, fights, and makeups. Grace performed acoustically with just her voice and her guitar. While I personally do not plan on revisiting Grace’s music, it was enjoyable and gave the audience a good amount of time to get warmed up and ready for the Good Witch herself, Maisie Peters.
Maisie burst onto the stage with a wave of long blonde hair flowing behind her, and her pale arms holding the microphone with the ease of an expert performer. Her miniature build made her stage presence all the more impressive. For her fairy-like figure, Maise controlled the audience with grace and embraced them like old friends. Maisie has a soprano voice, and her music is influenced by rock bands including Fall Out Boy and Arctic Monkeys. Maisie’s quirky personality and perky attitude takes the edge off her spunky music and intensely relatable lyrics. With the balance of young joy and the heartache of an old soul, Maisie keeps the concert upbeat and the crowd positive, while also recognizing that being a girl is impossibly hard and it’s even worse once you’re on the dating scene.
Maisie belts out a ballad of heartbreak and betrayal. Photo by Austin Price.
Maisie was accompanied by an intimate band of three artists. She proudly introduced each one of them with a fun fact and their history of working together, showing the closeness of the group and the tight bond they have formed throughout their two album tours. With Tina on the keyboard, Joe on the bass guitar, and Jack on the drums, Maisie valiantly and energetically led her team through the concert. Maisie switched between simply singing, playing an electric guitar, and playing an acoustic-electric guitar. Tina hit the high notes on a Roland electric keyboard with two levels, Joe blasted the speakers with a Fender Precision Bass, and Jack gave the heartbeat of the performance with a DW Performance Series 5-piece drum set with 3 surrounding cymbals, painted in scarlet red with Maisie Peters embossed on the front in bold, black ink.
Maise leads her band with spunk and style. Photo by Austin Price.
The staging of the group was predominantly taken up by Maisie. She stood with her microphone front and center with the band far enough behind to give her room to pace back and forth, enabling her to clearly see all members of her audience. With Jack on drums in the center behind Maisie, Joe on her left with the bass guitar, and Tina on her right with the keyboard, Maisie’s team made up a cohesive unit of collaboration and creativity. Personally, one of my favorite things about Maisie and her band was the interactions they had with one another while performing. When the chorus was at its peak and the music was at its loudest setting, Joe and Maisie would frequently walk around to their other band members to full on, in your face, rock out with them.
The lighting on the group varied based on the track they were performing. For example, Maisie’s hit “BSC” which stands for bat-shit crazy, in case you were curious, was drenched in bright red lights whereas her soulful, haunting lullaby “Wendy” was coated in shades of blue and purple. For several songs, Maisie was donned by a bright, yellow spotlight with her band, lightly illuminated behind her, whereas for others, the entire group was coated in neon colors that moved with the music.
Maisie blasted onto the stage in a defiant version of a schoolgirl outfit with a red, plaid skirt and black, leather combat boots. Following Maise’s lead with the punk school girl attire, the band wore leather pants, rugged tee shirts, combat boots, and their tattoos on full display. Tina and Maisie, who are best friends outside of work, are both in their early 20s. Jack and Joe are a little older and are between their late 20s and early 30s.
Upon leaving the concert, I listened to Maisie’s music nonstop. As a music lover and writer, I have an unusual approach to attending concerts. I go to the concert without listening to the album beforehand. This allows me to experience the music with an open mind and an excited spirit to hear the true level of talent in a performer. Through my unorthodox system, I can fully immerse myself in the experience without bias or expectations. This strategy worked wonderfully with Maisie as her music has been on repeat since Thursday night. All in all, I recommend Maise’s music to anyone who has ever loved, been loved, or been in love. I recommend it for anyone who has ever been a child and to everyone who has used magic and fantasy to inspire their daily life.