“The Good Witch” (2023), Maisie Peters’ sophomore album, is catchy enough to make anyone want to get dumped just to have an excuse to listen to it on repeat. It’s the kind of music that could motivate even the most sullen person to get up and dance, and Peters’ live performance of the album did not disappoint.
Maisie Peters concluded the first leg of her international tour, The Good Witch Comes To North America, with a sold out show at Roadrunner on Wednesday, Oct. 11. The 23-year-old, U.K.-based pop singer-songwriter has only been active for about seven years but already has a robust discography, opened for Ed Sheeran and now a No. 1 album on the U.K. Billboard under her belt.
Her opener for the evening, Grace Enger, performed a simple yet beautiful half-hour set. It featured almost all of her released songs, one unreleased song and a tranquil cover of Cyndi Lauper’s classic “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” (1983). She was extremely poised for such a small artist, and her relatively slow music provided a calm yet upbeat transition into Maisie Peters’ more energetic performance.
Even before the start of Peters’ set, it was clear the audience was in for a dynamic performance. The stage was prepared with giant inflatable letters spelling out “The Good Witch.” The lighting came in from all sides, and when the band started playing, it instantly synced up with the beat of the drum.
She opened, of course, with “The Good Witch,” the first and titular song of the album. She then quickly moved into “Coming of Age,” the second song of the album, which provided an animated transition into the remainder of the poppy set.
In addition to tracks from “The Good Witch,” the concert also featured some throwbacks to her first album, “You Signed Up For This” (2021). They included “John Hughes Movie” which she told the audience was one of the first songs she ever wrote. Any fan who forgot about “Love Him I Don’t” will find it stuck in their head for weeks after her distinctive performance.
The setlist took a more somber turn with a mashup of “Two Weeks Ago” (2023), “Worst of You” (2018), a cover of the One Direction song “Night Changes” (2014), and “You Signed Up for This” (2021). This was perhaps the only disappointing moment from the show. Though all four songs were good, “Two Weeks Ago” is a standout song from “The Good Witch” which deserved to be played in its entirety for the album tour.
Despite her age and relatively new fame, Peters was surprisingly charismatic and demonstrated a confident stage presence. Throughout the show, Peters made sure to build in frequent interactions with her audience. At one point, she even found a couple in the crowd and asked them about each other’s “red flags” as a segue into her song “Run” (2023).
Though Maisie Peters’ performance was fantastic, the real star of the show was her keyboardist, Tina Hizon. Anytime you looked over at the keys you could see Hizon having what seemed to be the time of her life, dancing in white overalls while jubilantly playing. She and Peters had fantastic onstage chemistry, and Hizon even came out with a keytar to dance with her for “Cate’s Brother” (2022). It also happened to be her birthday! Maisie Peters led the crowd in singing an out of tune yet lively rendition of “Happy Birthday” for Tina.
For the encore, Peters invited Grace Enger back to the stage to join her in a performance of “History of Man,” the final song from “The Good Witch.” The last song of the set — and of the North American leg of her tour — was her biggest hit “Lost The Breakup” (2023). The strength of this performance showed beyond all doubt that Maisie Peters deserves, and is ready for, the great success which is sure to continue to come to her.
