When Maggie Rogers came to the Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom, the crowd went wild as she performed songs off her second studio album, Surrender. As the only six-year-old in attendance, Charlie was disappointed she didn’t get to hear her favorite song ‘Burning’ off Maggie’s first album.
Cue her mom, Hannah, posting a sweet video the next day as Charlie asked Maggie to add the song to her Milwaukee setlist that Sunday with a cheeky note that she’d do her best to convince her mom to drive her over. Maggie responded to this video and arranged for Hannah, Charlie, and a family friend to attend the Milwaukee show after the mother-daughter duo saw her perform live at the historic Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom in Uptown that Friday night.
Hannah, who’s been a Chicago resident for 12 years, was satisfied with their concert experience in Chicago as it took place at a special venue she knows and admires. Sitting up in the balcony seats that Friday night in Chicago, Hannah, and Charlie embraced the live music and crowd with fever.
This was their first Maggie Rogers concert experience and it was undeniably memorable as what unfolded next gained attention from fans all over the world. Maggie reposted Charlie’s video and sent them a message– they were willing to play ‘Burning’ for Charlie!
Cut to that Sunday, as they sit in another venue, this one marginally different from the intimate Chicago setting, as Maggie dedicated ‘Burning’ to Charlie, shouting out the six-year-old as she watched from the crowd alight in glow sticks in case Maggie tried to find her.
Side note: Maggie did spot Charlie In the crowd. Hannah says the six-year-old instantly connected with Maggie from her balcony seat as Maggie dedicated the song, saying “It’s so nice to meet you, Charlie, I’m so glad you could make it,” Rogers told the crowd, saying, “This one is for you.”
The mother-daughter duo didn’t have plans to attend the Milwaukee show that Sunday but things changed when Maggie reached out to them to personally offer tickets– noting that Burning would be on this stop’s setlist.
Hannah recounts the experience, saying her daughter was overcome with excitement after she read the DM and they made arrangements to travel to Milwaukee. Now, Maggie Rogers is intrinsically connected to Charlie and Hannah’s Chicago experience, with Hannah saying they plan to be at every Chicago show Maggie performs from here on out.
She says they’ll be at Maggie’s show any time she comes to Chicago, noting she hopes Maggie performs at the Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom in the future, even as her star power gets bigger because this particular space is an intimate and special part of the Chicago music scene.
While Hannah has been to plenty of shows at the Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom, she praises the Chicago music scene overall, calling out this particular venue’s vast history and incredible intimacy.
At the Milwaukee show, there was a medical emergency during her performance of ‘Alaska’, which Maggie handled with grace and patience, making sure everyone was taken care of. Her staff offered water to those in the pit, and Maggie halted the show as the situation got under control. She stopped the production mid-song and after everything was handled, swiftly transitioned to another song, ‘Horses’ before moving back to restart ‘Alaska’ later in the set.
Hannah praises Maggie’s calmness, saying it’s a “masterclass in crowd control,” as the singer recently got her Master’s from Harvard in religion and public life. Hannah said it was Maggie’s “masters work in action.” Now, Chicago and Maggie Rogers are forever entwined for Charlie and Hannah, as they got to experience her life and in action here first, and then got a special shout-out a short drive away.