1,441 MAISIE PETERS, Bristol The Trinity, Thursday 14th May 2026

 

Another of my slightly rarer forays into “live” music with the daughter of the house, this; having seen “pop” ingenue and Swiftie understudy Maisie Peters in a small (for her, anyway) venue in October last year (gig 1,409), Jami and I figured that the next time we’d be off for some more “live” May-May would be on her (presumably arena-level) tour following the impending release of her 3^rd studio album “Florescence”. However, Jami picked up news on the Maisie group chat of some more “intimate” low-key acoustic flavoured shows in advance of said release, with one being scheduled for Bristol’s well-appointed and entirely suitable Trinity venue, so we jumped on and got tix before they sold out in predictably short order – so quickly in fact, that they added a matinee and tix for that flew out too!

This was a Rough Trade event as well, with CD copies of the new album included in the price, so fine with that! Jami had a singing lesson in the afternoon, so we set off in short order thereafter, stopping at Leigh Delamere for food so we could park up for free after 6.30 on Market Street near the Exchange, then wandering over to this old church venue, joining a 30-or so deep queue 1½ hours before scheduled doors. Let it not be said that the Maisie massive are not loyal… Chatted with some queuing fans (including a fellow actor for J to compare notes with) as the matinee performance chucked out at 7, then huddled under a big tree as some light drizzle dampened bodies but not spirits; good thing we brought raincoats! Happily the stewards threw us soggy lot a bone, opening back up at 7.30, so we got a spot a few rows back, house right and near the barrier-ed off disabled area, chucking our coats over said barriers next to Evie, a girl who was flying solo and probably only a couple of years older than Jami. As the front got more crowded, however, she started showing signs of agitation, so I asked if she was ok; a firm “no” was the answer, as she was seemingly descending into a full-on panic attack, so (at her request), I got her out to the back of the venue, where she showed me a phone message that was prepared for such eventualities. So I grabbed her some water (one of the solution hints) then got the venue manager, who was trained to deal with this situation, then after a short pause left her in his capable hands. Happily she regained her composure, as just before showtime a steward brought her round into the disabled area and sorted her a seat near the side door. 

So after this, I got my spot back with Jami, and chatted and took pics to while away the time. With little fanfare, the tiny Maisie and her 4-piece band then took the stage at 8.30 to rapturous acclaim. “You guys seem pretty loose!” observed the ebullient Maisie, “are you excited for the show?” “You You You” (“a serious song – so no laughing!” scolded the singer, tongue in cheek) eased in with a melancholy vibe; the folksy ballad of “Say My Name” followed with a preamble from Maisie about her co-writer Marcus Mumford, building to a typical hooky and singalong chorus, and after the countrified pedal steel-embellished “Audrey Hepburn” (“a love song to my boyfriend, rather than a mean song about 3 men in rotation!”), the low-key acoustic oldie “Body Better” still got the loudest singalong of the night.

 As I mentioned last May-May time out (last October, gig 1,409), this isn’t usually my thing, but I’m warming to Peters’ pleasant and listenable Swiftie-esque countrified material, and of course have to give her props for her often-lengthy between-song banter and upbeat bonhomie, reinforcing the sense of inclusiveness and strong connection with her young, overwhelmingly female (or at least AFAB) audience. A Q&A session mid-set, conducted by her keyboardist, underlined this, before her “surprise” song (a clear reference to Tay-Tay’s similar Eras tour segment), the mellow, moody and rather splendid actually oldie “Hollow”. Oldie “History Of Man” (announced with, “[I’m] so happy that I feel that the song that defines [me] is also some of [my] best work!”) ran it close for set highlight for me, a brooding acoustic build that recalled some of Taylor’s work with The National’s Aaron Dessner. 

The hushed, spooky “My Regards” brought the 50 minutes performance to a close; I’d moved to the back of the packed venue at Jami’s request to try for the mixing desk list but they weren’t handing it out, but luckily I squeezed back to the front post-set, a short wait being rewarded with a stage list for my overjoyed daughter. A much easier than last time drive home got us back around 10.30, both pleased after another successful daddy-daughter Maisie experience. And yes, I now fully expect that the next time our paths cross with this talented young pop artist will be the main “Florescence” tour!