At 3 a.m. on Friday, fans began lining up outside of Chicago’s House of Blues to see singer-songwriter Maggie Rogers perform the fourth show of her The Don’t Forget Me Tour.
By 6:30 a.m, the line extended nearly three blocks, covering two bridges atop the Chicago River.
Taking place exactly one week after the release of her third album, “Don’t Forget Me,” the concert was the last of four intimate release shows before Rogers embarks on her first arena tour in May. Tickets were only sold in person the day of the concert.
The performance was part of Rogers’ “Box Office Week,” where fans could purchase tickets for the release shows and her fall arena shows for a discounted price — and fewer processing fees.
Rogers encouraged them to “come buy a ticket like it’s 1965” on social media, an attempt to combat issues with reselling and gouged prices.
“It’s a lot more effort to get tickets, so it definitely deters problems that you have with online ticket sales,” said Lexi Karaivanova, a superfan who flew in from North Carolina and waited at the venue the entire day. “It’s not as fast or convenient, but it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience for our generation. It’s not something we’ve ever had to do.”
Ticket sales began at 10 a.m. for entrance into the 1,000-person venue.
Weinberg freshman Lena An arrived at 6:45 a.m. and bought her ticket more than five hours later. She said that although she enjoyed the face-to-face interaction of buying a physical ticket, there were potential accessibility issues.
“I think it is a bit stressful, and it takes a certain kind of privilege for somebody to take so much time out of their day to go and get a ticket,” An said.
The release concert tickets sold out before 2 p.m. The show itself started around 8:30 p.m., and Rogers played a 100-minute set with no opener.
Despite the long wait and missing three lectures, McCormick sophomore Libby Raymond said the ticket-buying process only enhanced her concert experience.
“It definitely made the concert a lot of fun because you could tell everyone there really loved her and knew all her songs,” Raymond said. “Her fan base is really nice and welcoming, so it wasn’t uncomfortable to stand in line with them for six hours.”
One fan marked numbers on people’s hands to ensure nobody was cutting in line. Another handed out signs saying “We won’t forget you” to be held up during the album’s lead single “Don’t Forget Me.” Someone else made a shirt printed with “& btw the Knicks lost” (a kicker line from “So Sick of Dreaming”), which Rogers donned for two songs.
Karaivanova said they’ve made many friends at Rogers’ previous shows, so they knew they’d “be in good hands.”
Packed into the small venue, her fans were enamored, singing and swaying along to every song, despite the album releasing only one week before. In her 100-minute set, Rogers performed the entirety of her new album, along with six other songs from her discography — all fan requests that she played on the fly.
When her fans held up the “We won’t forget you” signs during the show’s penultimate song, Rogers teared up.
“It’s ironic that I made this album called ‘Don’t Forget Me,’ cause you all make me feel so seen,” she said.
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