Waiting in line for Maggie Rogers tickets

Maggie Rogers had fans around the corner to buy tickets at the box office like it's 1965

Apr 18, 2024

After the exciting few weeks I’ve had, I couldn’t imagine also meeting Maggie Rogers.

When I saw on Spotify last week that Rogers had an upcoming show at Theatre of Living Arts in Philly, I wondered how I could have missed it. Then, I tried to find tickets, which would only be sold at the box office from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and would cost $25.

Rogers held a similar pop-up tour last summer, calling the initiative “buy tickets like it’s 1965,” as a way to combat high ticket prices and give all fans a fair shot. But this time around, the stakes were even higher. Rogers is going on her first arena tour in the fall. So, this pop-up tour could well be fans’ last chance to see her perform live at a small venue.

Of course, I had to go. I’m a huge Maggie Rogers fan. She said herself that she makes “main character” music, and if I had to pick my favorite genre, it would be just that. Her music is a seamless blend of main character indie rock and Shania Twain, KT Tunstall country pop, which especially shines through on her latest album Don’t Forget Me, undeniably a no-skip and maybe my favorite of hers yet.

The box office was at the Fillmore in Northern Liberties, and given I live in the suburbs, this was already one obstacle. Had I lived in the area, I may have joined the 5 a.m. campers on the street. Also, I was still admittedly still tired from my weekend in Nashville. My friend and I stepped out of our Uber at 9:30 to see a line wrapped around three times beneath the bridge, a whole block away from the Fillmore.

We knew we were screwed, but I said we should just wait around to see if Rogers came to greet us. Philly was only the second stop on the tour, and I saw video clips of her greeting fans in line at Irving Plaza in NYC the day before.

Anyways, Follow For More

Insta: @bysarahalessa • TikTok: @sarahalessa_ • Spotify: @saraha724

While we weren’t far from the end of the line, we weren’t the last ones to join, either. The young fan and her mom in front of us were determined to wait the whole day. In a quintessential Philly moment, the fan pulled a plastic lawn chair from the dumpster under the bridge so she could sit. Regrettably, we didn’t get their contact information to find out if they got tickets.

Once 11:45 rolled around, and we’d only made it to the second loop of the line, we decided there was no point in wasting our sunny day anymore when we obviously weren’t getting tickets. So, we left to go to brunch.

Ticket prices are a huge problem. Artists have very little control over the price-gouging fees being tacked on to already expensive tickets. So, it’s refreshing to see an artist go out of their way to offer fans an equal chance at one of the most beautiful experiences life has to offer. If you didn’t know, I’m a huge concert junkie.

Of course, I’m not sure when, Maggie Rogers eventually came to greet the line. I had a stack of peach cobbler French toast and half a mimosa pitcher at Green Eggs Cafe, and I met Ela from Rainbow Kitten Surprise last week. So, I can’t really complain.

What else is going on?

I’m going to start a support group for anyone who can’t make it to All Things Go, a festival I’ve had my eye on for a while because of how absurdly good the lineups always are. In terms of indie and alternative music, I daresay ATG is the new Firefly. When I saw I couldn’t make it that weekend, I told myself, maybe the lineup won’t be good this year.

The lineup is so good this year.