Maisie Peters at The Sinclair, 3/9

by Olivia Bello

Although the night of March 9th, 2022 was snowy and dark, energy was high inside The Sinclair, a cozy venue tucked in Harvard Square. After an intimate acoustic set by Jonah Kagen, headliner Maisie Peters danced onto the stage, bursting into the title track of her debut album, You Signed Up for This. Peters then performed two more songs, Psycho and Boy, without stopping, moving quickly about the small stage. “Outdoor Pool” was up next on the setlist, and the lyrics “You're asking if I wanna come out / It's a Wednesday night, I just took off my makeup” were quite fitting as it was, in fact, a Wednesday night. 

          One of my favorite moments in the show was when Peters announced that she would be singing the first song she ever released. As soon as she began, I recognized Place We Were Made, a gorgeous, poignant, song about nostalgia and growing up that I have been listening to for several years.

          The next song, Love Him I Don’t, was Peters’ favorite song of the set, was also very moving. “Loving him hurts / Loving him don't work / So love him, I don’t,” she sang. 

Throughout the night, the young performer interacted with the enthusiastic audience. At one point she even asked who had recently been heartbroken and asked one audience member to share her story. After listening, Peters dedicated her next song, I’m Trying (Not Friends) to the brave audience member. Then, Peters surprised the crowd with an unreleased song called Pretty Girls Like Star Signs. When she finished singing, the crowd shouted, “Release it!” (Unfortunately, Peters has no plans to release the song).

          A change of pace came with the sly lyricism of Volcano: “I'll cry you a river, then I'll drown you in it,” Peters sang powerfully. She also performed her popular single Favorite Ex, and ended with Worst of You, a song about loving someone despite their flaws that has over 100 million streams on Spotify. 

          Calling for an encore, the crowd filled the small room with shouts of “Maisie! Maisie!” Sure enough, Peters jogged back on stage for John Hughes Movie. “If you don't want me / Then you're not the one,” Peters proclaimed defiantly, leaving the Cambridge crowd breathless and filled with energy to brave the cold outside.