British pop singer-songwriter Maisie Peters, known for her indie pop rock tunes with clever lyrics and guitar-based melodies, concluded her North American tour at Roadrunner in Boston Wednesday night with a sold-out show. Ahead of her performance, Peters spoke with GBH News about her time on tour, her relationship with her fans and what’s next for her.
It's been a whirlwind couple of years for Peters. In 2022, she toured her debut album “You Signed Up for This,” where she made a stop at Cambridge’s The Sinclair. She also joined Ed Sheeran on his tour since 2022 (she’s signed to his Gingerbread Man Records label). Now, she’s headlining even bigger shows for the tour of her latest album, “The Good Witch.”
Peters has been performing nonstop — her Boston show was the last of nearly 30 tour dates starting in August in North America. It was the second biggest show of the tour, only topped by Radio City Music Hall in New York.
“I’m very tired. It’s been a long time,” she said. “I can’t believe it’s the last day. It's crazy to think this is the final one.”
But Peters isn’t done yet. Immediately following the Boston show, she’s heading back to the United Kingdom for a quick break. Then she’s back on tour starting Oct. 17 with a show in Glasgow.
“I have the best people around me, so it makes it easier, because they’re all my best friends and we love each other,” she said.
“The Good Witch” includes a love letter to this life on tour, “The Band and I,” detailing her journey across America with her band, having the time of their lives together. With references to specific venues and locations, it was a hit as she traveled through cities on this tour.
It was endless roads, in the same old boots
Oh, it was letting go of everything but you
It was the band and I on a 12-bed bus
If we're living the dream, I hope we never wake upLyrics from "The Band and I" by Maisie Peters
Peters started out busking on the streets and performing at any gig she could as a teenager. Now, she’s earned a number one hit album in the UK with “The Good Witch.”
Some of Peters' success is built on the community she's built with her fans. To keep the lines of communication open, she has a Discord chat server where her fans to talk to each other and where she can share updates on her music. She’s also active on social media, where she gives fans a behind-the-scenes look into her life on tour. And she empowers her fans to share their experiences by passing around the "coven cam," which concertgoers can use to take photos as they wait in line.
More important though, is how Peters communicates with her fans through her songs. They are confessional, raw and emotionally honest.
During the show, Peters made it a point to interact with the audience. Before performing “Run,” a song warning the listener away from toxic men, she asked for fans to tell her their biggest red flags from people they dated.
“The Good Witch” is an album filled with a breadth of storytelling, using literary allusions to tell Peters’ tales of growing up, (literally, with track “Coming of Age”) heartbreak, and taking power for her feelings. Her songs are written with care, which Peters said she thinks is why she has drawn a crowd that cares deeply about her music and songwriting.
In "Coming of Age," she writes “Baby, I'm the Iliad, of course you couldn't read me.” In “Wendy,” she talks about being in an toxic relationship by comparing it to the story of Peter Pan, “Behind every lost boy, there's always a Wendy,” “Lost my page when you kissed me, Now I remember the whole book, She almost loses her way 'cause, She followed him after one look.”
In “History of Man,” she details the cruelty of men that has carried through generations.
The men start wars yet Troy hates Helen
Women's hearts are lethal weapons
Did you hold mine and feel threatened?
Hear my lyrics, taste my venomLyrics from "History of Man" by Maisie Peters
Peters said it's a song “the girls lose their mind to.”
“I do read a lot, and I always have, and I think because of that, I have a sort of backlog of references and books and stories,” she said. “So I sort of roll around my brain and then I occasionally put one out and use it. So ‘History of Man’ is a lot like biblical and mythological references. It just loiters around my brain and sometimes I feel inspired to pick it up, same with ‘Wendy,’ it's not like I'm ‘Peter Pan’ obsessive, but I’m interested in the story.”
During her Boston show, fans screamed along with her confessional song lyrics as she danced back and forth across the stage.
Coming off of a hit album and tour, Peters says she has a rough idea of what she wants to next, and some of the shows that she wants to play. As she leaves Boston, she looks forward to the rest of her life on the road.
“It's the biggest going away party!”
