The weekend’s most wholesome vibes can be found on Friday night at Brighton Dome, where the first of The Great Escape’s Spotlight shows kicks off with Maisie Peters’ headline gig.
Thoroughly warmed up after finishing a massive tour of the UK and Europe, the Dome must feel quaint in comparison, but as a Brighton native, it’s a particularly special show for Maisie. Where the rest of her band chose Colorado’s Red Rocks and New York’s Madison Square Garden as their dream venues, it’s here where Maisie always wanted to play, and she sold it out with ease.
With that in mind, she comes out swinging. The set is an hour of back-to-back bangers, kicking off with recent hit ‘Body Better’ and rarely dipping in energy from then on. Pulling largely from her 2021 debut ‘You Signed Up For This’, she needn’t worry about her voice getting raspy from all the touring; the crowd fill in all the gaps word for word.
The record plays out far more dynamically live, the full-band production filling out the tracks so they match the ante of her newer material, particularly those standalone singles ‘Cate’s Brother’ and ‘Not Another Rockstar’.
Between the bangers, Maisie recounts Brighton moments from throughout her life – her first date, her first concert, you know the drill – and her connection with her fans runs deep because of moments like this. Down at the front, they’ve queued up for hours to be in those spots, draping banners over the barrier and screaming every lyric.
There are plenty of fans here with parents, this show likely being their first gig, much like Maisie’s was here when she was younger. In the middle of a festival full of industry professionals standing with their arms folded, seeing a crowd of (mostly) young women letting loose to an hour of sadbangers is a welcome change.
Closing the set with latest ‘Lost The Breakup’, and second album ‘The Good Witch’ just a month away, Maisie Peters looks set to be the biggest pop star to come out of Brighton in a long time.
