In a nondescript building in a tiny Pennsylvania town, Maggie Rogers was getting ready for her big moment.Lititz, Pa., is where arena acts come to rehearse their shows before heading out on national tour, and every detail matters.
"Sunday Morning" caught up with Rogers there, just weeks away from her concerts at Madison Square Garden.In a career-defining event, she sold out the New York City venue."Twice!" she laughed.
"I don't know how to, like, compute that in my brain.I don't understand it fundamentally!"To be clear, it wasn't Rogers' first time on a big stage; she'd already shared them with the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Joan Baez, and a stint opening for Coldplay.
She was also a 2020 Grammy-nominee for best new artist.But for Rogers, who studied music at New York University, playing Madison Square Garden was a homecoming of sorts.Walking through Washington Square Park, not far from her former dorm room, she pointed out the benches where she used to write songs.
It was at NYU where Rogers got what you might call her big break – or at least a big break, when superstar producer and musician Pharrell Williams visited her class.Rogers played him a song she'd been working on called "Alaska." "What I remember is really just staring at my shoes and, like, holding on tight," she said.
Williams' response: "Wow! Wow! I have zero, zero, zero notes for that, and I'll tell you why: you're doing your own thing.It's singular." The video clip of Williams' master class went viral, but Rogers – who actually started out studying music engineering – still needed to learn the craft of writing and performing, which is just what she did.
"I've played, like, every bar and club on the Lower East Side, and every DIY venue in Brooklyn that existed in my time here," she said.Now, at the age of 30, Rogers has built a close relationship with her fans, many of whom watched her go from small clubs to being an artist that record labels were fighting over.Remember that ...