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Maggie Rogers review: Even Florence Welch can't steal the show

Is there a more likeable pop star than Maggie Rogers? Judging by the collective outpouring of love at her largest headline show to date, apparently not.

It helps that we’ve been invested in the Maryland singer’s journey from the offset, after a video of her humbly wowing Pharrell Williams at a 2016 songwriting masterclass went viral.

Rogers seemed similarly awed last night when she realised the audience had memorised every lyric on her debut, Heard It In A Past Life, despite it dropping just under a month ago. Happily, fans’ devotion was repaid with interest, as the 24-year-old delivered a spirited performance that felt refreshingly guileless.

Striding on stage to Abba’s Dancing Queen, and backed by a four-piece band, Rogers strutted through the HAIM-ish funk of Give A Little, the high-energy moves never impeding her supple, folky vocals.

A soaring rendition of Retrograde was accompanied by shimmying moves and pink lights, and she donned a red stetson donated by a fan during an emotive cover of Tim McGraw by Taylor Swift. The night’s biggest surprise arrived during Light On, when Rogers cited the full moon as an excuse to welcome her “magical sister” Florence Welch onstage. The pair proceeded to trade harmonies, dance moves and smiles, basking in mutual respect and affection. The duet was only one of the night’s standout moments.

A haunting rendition of Past Life, complete with a cappella intro and Stevie Nicks-esque vocals, brought the room to a stunned silence, as did the moving preamble to Back In My Body in which she recalled “freaking out” at a London gig early in her career. “I wish I could give that girl a hug and show her all of this,” she smiled, wiping away tears.