You know the phrase, “She’s a little bit country, she’s a little bit rock ‘n’ roll?” For singer/songwriter Maggie Rose, a more appropriate phrase would — ‘She’s a little bit country, a little bit rock ‘n’ roll…and everything in between.’
Maggie Rose confidently defies being placed in one genre. Her soulful sounds have landed her on a boat performing with Jason Isbell, in the countryside jamming at The Allman Brothers’ founded Peach Fest, and in front of tens of thousands of pop fans opening up for Kelly Clarkson.
And she wouldn’t have it any other way.
We recently caught up with Rose to talk to her about her career which started at the bars of the Jersey Shore playing Springsteen covers as she gets set to perform at The Wonder Bar in Asbury Park, NJ tonight.
You’re playing Asbury Park tonight at The Wonder Bar — seems kind of fitting for you since you started your professional singing career with the famed Bruce Springsteen tribute band, The B Street Band. You’re originally from the D.C. area how’d you end up in a Bruce tribute band?
I grew up Catholic and I sang in choir, but I never had the platform to perform the music that I’m making now — original music that’s performed in front of a secular crowd, that drinks (laughs). I had this family friend who was introduced me to The B Street Band. He had played with them a few times, and he’d been on stage with them at The Headliner in [Neptune] New Jersey. He thought they’d let me come on and sing with them.
[The band and I] hit it off, and I would sing a couple of covers with them, and I’d sneak a few originals into my set. It’s where I cut my teeth. They taught me how to perform — how not to wear sun dresses onstage, what a power stance was. They took me under their wing — a 15, or 16 year old gig who had finally gotten a gig where I could learn how to become an entertainer and not just a singer.
Not a lot of people get their start in cover bands — especially at such a young age. Was this daunting for you going from singing at church to bars where people are partying?
Absolutely. Up to that point I was young, and any time I sang everyone would be quiet and pay attention. With B-Street people were out — drinking, yelling, talking, having a good time. So you had to get their attention. I wasn’t just doing this for them; I was doing it for me. It was about becoming an individual and being comfortable in my own skin. It helped me discovered what I wanted to say and what I wanted to do. It was pretty early on my life to have that exposure, and it was a catalyst for me. Being on stage is fun, and no longer daunting because of that experience.
You defy genre and it has landed you at shows performing with Big Boi, Kelly Clarkson, Jason Isbell on a boat, and jam bands at Peach Fest. Do you think this is the perfect time to be creative and defy genre as opposed to 10, 15, or 25 years ago?
That is my objective and it’s one of the things I enjoy the most right now. This album I have out has demonstrated that I can live in all these different formats. The audiences want this music and aren’t looking for their music based on the confines of a genre. They want to find something to connect with.
That’s why we put this album together differently. We recorded live. I assembled this band from people I’ve toured with and who are my friends. We served the songs on this record. Instead of saying “we need it sound like this” we said “what sound does this song need?” In the end we recreated this soul/roots/Americana record that you can play on the Cayamo Cruise or Peach Fest. It’s exciting. I don’t feel like an outlier on the fringe of a genre I’m trying to fit into. I feel like I have found my own way and I can keep pursuing that path and there will be an audience for it.
Can you expound on recording live. You had a 13 piece family band … which is slightly ambitious. What was about this record that demanded this level of production?
It sounds like it’s excessive but there’s a simple cut and dry rule we wanted to abide by. We wanted to take our favorite takes start to finish — no compiling vocals, overdubs, or using isolation booths. It was an engineering nightmare, but for us it’s what we wanted for this album. We weren’t going down the rabbit hole of being over-produced. We wanted that live band sound.
It also goes back to being independent. When we set out to do this record I wanted to record three songs with my “family band.” There was no label breathing down my neck demanding a new record. We were just in love with these songs, each other, and what we’re doing. It came together after the first session we knew we were going to make the album that way. So we wrote songs, tried them out on the road, got the band back together in the studio and cut three more songs.
During the recording process was there an unexpected left turn that happened? One that happened for the betterment of the record?
[Recording live] brought an urgency to the room. We also had cameras in our face so we didn’t want to mess anything up. We rehearsed a lot because it was our pre-production. You sing differently when it’s one take, just like when you’re singing in front of an audience. There’s cracks in my voice that [got recorded] that became my favorite parts of this record. On another record I probably would’ve opted for a different take.
There was an accountability in the room. As a live band in one room there was a lot of ideas that came on the spot. Since we’re all friends no one bulldozed an idea, or shot it down. There was magic there, and that happens during a live performance and that’s what we wanted to capture.
Transitioning to the live performance…you were tapped for Kelly Clarkson’s tour. However, you headline your own shows. Can you talk about shifting from headlining your own shows to working as a support act sometimes within days, weeks or months between each other?
I’m at a state in my career where there’s a lot of introduction after making music for this long. I have a record out that’s put me in front of different people which is great. As a supporting act, I look at it as an opportunity. I’ve opened for Kelly a few times and it’s exciting to be on stage have my music resonate with her fans, who she’s lent me, in essence, for my set. Taylor Goldsmith of Dawes said when he was tour with John Mayer that he had to remind himself he wasn’t Dawes and most of the people didn’t know him. You’ve got humble yourself, and then go out there let people know who you are. In the headlining scenario, there’s more familiarity in the audience, but performing is performing. Whether opening or closing — I’m giving the same energy.
Let’s talk about getting to work with Kelly Clarkson…how did this come about?
It happened organically. We’re signed to the same management company. We have a similar family dynamic since we’re both married to our managers. Her father-in-law co-manages me with my husband. So one night Kelly’s husband was playing my record at home, not because he was trying to push Kelly to work with me, he just was playing it. She heard the record, enjoyed it and she invited me to play in Montana. That went really well and we really meshed. She’s sweet and unaffected by stardom. She walks the walks — if she wants to support an artist — she does it. So, she is bringing me out on the dates that Kelsea Ballerini couldn’t make. It’s been pretty surreal!
You’ve been hand chosen, but you’re obviously a strong and confident performer. However, was this still pretty daunting?
Absolutely. You probably don’t have a pulse if you don’t butterflies when you step onto a stage of the size. These people do not know me. They’re wondering who I am. I don’t have a single on the record. But they were amazing. I think I resonated with them because Kelly has this R&B/soul element to her songs that you can also hear in my music too. She’s an approachable artist, and I want to connect with people. I was a little dizzy at first on that stage.
You’ve had a pretty wild six months. What are you looking forward to the near and distant future?
Playing all these different spaces for all these different audiences. I’ve been doing this a long and this record is the one where I feel like I’ve found “it.” I’m not floundering, or wondering anymore. I’m already working on a new record, and I can’t wait to find all these new audiences and play for them.
Maggie Rose and her 10-piece band performs at Wonder Bar in Asbury Park tonight. Them Vibes, and Ricky Barry will be opening up. Click here for tickets.
