“There’s nothing scarier than my romantic history… I love ghosts, I like demons, but I LOVE clowns!” Maisie Peters recently joked with her sold-out audience at the 9:30 Club. The fall spooky vibes were abundant, between the allusions to her “scary” past relationships, lyrics that sing of the month of October, and dramatic lighting.
After all, the album she is supporting on tour is called The Good Witch.
The show at the 9:30 Club happened just hours after an intimate acoustic set at Byrdland Records in DC on Oct. 9.
Stream The Good Witch by Maisie Peters on Spotify.
The crowd was sporting shirts with lyrics from Peters’ songs and accessorized with friendship bracelets and “Maisie Peters is my gf President” buttons. They lined up for hours to get good spots. Peters was outfitted largely the same, wearing a t-shirt with her lyric “what about Wendy” from her 2023 song, “Wendy.”
Perhaps what stuck out the most visually to me was her mic stand, an often mundane and standard-looking object. Her mic stand was covered in friendship bracelets from fans, and as the night progressed, she added to the collection as fans passed along bracelets and handwritten letters to the stage. If the music wasn’t fun enough, the fans made it even more fun.
The Good Witch is the British pop singer’s sophomore release, which debuted this past summer. It hit No. 1 on the UK. charts and tells lores of growing up, relationships, moving on, and as she often jokes, “being a teenager in her 20s.”
Her stage presence is energetic, and each detail, from the background of the stage to the anecdotes and laughs she shares, feels intentional and thoughtful. From the cheers when she mentioned her last time in DC at Howard Theater, It’s clear this wasn’t the majority of the audience’s first show of hers.
Peters played the entirety of her newest release, as well as favorites from her first album, You Signed Up For This, three singles, and a medley that includes a One Direction cover. For the encore, she brought back Grace Enger to the stage, who opened up for Peters two hours prior.
Stream top tracks by Grace Enger on Spotify.
Enger, whose last time in DC she said was for a sixth-grade school trip, was thrilled to be on stage to start the evening. When playing her song, “When it Was Over” the crowd was fast to echo one catchy line that felt extra appropriate for the fall mood- “The leaves were turning red, and the air was getting colder I couldn’t tell if it was love, or just October.” Though a handful of fans were singing along the entire set, anyone who wasn’t singing along joined in when her cover of Cydni Lauper’s “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” came around. It was clear fun was exactly what they were having.
Maisie Peters Setlist
The Good Witch
Coming of Age
Body Better
Love Him I Don’t
Wendy
You’re Just a Boy (And I’m Kinda the Man)
Watch
John Hughes Movie
Two Weeks Ago / Worst of You / Night Changes / You Signed Up for This (One Direction cover)
Run
The Band and I
Not Another Rockstar
Blonde
I’m Trying (Not Friends)
BSC
There It Goes
Cate’s Brother
Encore:
History of Man (with Grace Enger)
Lost the Breakup
Grace Enger Setlist
Bad Guy
Me To You
When It Was Over
Ruin
Girls Just Want to Have Fun (Cyndi Lauper cover)
imytn
The Cut
The Neighborhood
Here are some photos of Maisie Peters (and opener Grace Enger) performing at 9:30 Club on Oct. 9, 2023. All pictures copyright and courtesy of Sami Pye.
