Last Saturday night, Texas pop-rock fans were treated to a phenomenal show when DFW-native Maggie Lindemann played her first show back in Dallas after a 3-year-long stretch. After releasing her latest record back in October of last year, fans were eager to catch the new songs live for the first time, along with all the Lindemann classics that we know and love.
Opening act Ayleen Valentine kicked things off, grabbing the audience's attention immediately when she walked out on the stage wearing a long black dress and a bedazzled gas mask. I had never heard of her before this weekend, and her music isn’t a genre that I am super familiar with, but I think she put on a fantastic performance. A lot of times when opening acts perform, there is a certain level of shyness that slips through when they address the crowd. That was not the case with Ayleen. She was super excited and interacted with the crowd with so much confidence and personability. Her songs were very chill and vibey, which had the crowd swaying throughout her whole set.
Ayleen Valentine
After a lovely performance by Ayleen, the house lights dropped, and Maggie Lindemann and her band strutted out onstage, making the crowd go absolutely wild. Maggie started off the night on a high note with the catchy hyper-pop song “fang” and proceeded to play all new songs off of her latest album, i feel everything, for the first quarter of her set. While many of the newer songs lean more in an electronic/pop direction on the album, they definitely were translated into a heavier, rock sound when played live. Swapping out the electronic drum machines for an acoustic drum kit and adding in a distorted guitar over the tracks made for an awesome live performance and gave the already fantastic songs even more grit. I’ve always loved when musicians add in heavier rock elements to songs for live shows. It adds a level of energy and excitement that really gets the crowd hyped up and enthusiastic.
After performing a handful of the new record live for the first time, Maggie transitioned into a couple of popular tracks off of her previous records. I was especially excited during this part because I got to hear “Crash and Burn,” the song that made me discover Maggie’s music back in 2021 and is also my personal favorite. Based on the amount of fans jumping up and down and singing the chorus at the top of their lungs, I’m guessing I was not alone in that opinion. Maggie and her band kept the vibes up, playing through a handful of classics such as “Scissorhands” and “Knife Under My Pillow,” which really had me reminiscing back to 2021 when I had Maggie’s PARANOIA EP blasting through my stereo basically 24/7. It’s always a treat when you get to hear songs you’ve loved for years live. It’s truly one of the best feelings in the world.
Maggie Lindemann
The fans were treated to another fan favorite when the lyrics to “she knows it” began coursing through the speakers. Every single fan in the venue, myself included, erupted into cheers and began singing along. Not only is this one of the most fun and fast-paced Maggie Lindemann songs, but for a lot of her fans, the lyrics are incredibly relatable and meaningful. While there are definitely more openly queer artists out there writing songs about their experiences than there used to be, it is still not as mainstream as many would like it to be. So when an artist writes a song that embraces their queerness openly, it really means a lot to fans who have had similar experiences and can relate to it. It’s something that is very special and something that Maggie has been incorporating into her music for years now, which I think is really badass.
Maggie finished out the final part of her set with several more tracks from her new album before bringing out Alexis Monroe to sing the encore “24” with her to close out the show. All in all, it was an incredible night of music. Something I have always loved about Maggie Lindemann is the amount of passion and rawness that she harnesses both when writing and performing her music. When she sings her lyrics, you can tell she is feeling all of the emotions she had while she was writing them, and it makes her live performances very visceral and captivating to watch. Her voice carries so much power behind it, and it’s truly beautiful to watch a singer who is as emotive as Maggie is. She is also a very dynamic musician and can easily transition between heartbreaking ballads and fun, lively pop-rock songs, making for a very well-rounded show. I’ve seen Maggie every time she has come through Dallas in the past 5 years, and it has been very exciting to watch her grow into the musician and performer that she is today. Her “I Feel Everything” tour has just begun at the time of writing this and will continue throughout the US until the end of April. If you’ve never seen Maggie Lindemann before, I would highly suggest getting yourself a ticket ASAP! This is not a show you want to miss.
Maggie Lindemann
