If Miranda and Carrie are this era’s ‘Queens of Country Music,’ then Maddie & Tae may very well be the princesses of the genre. The duo took the world by storm in the summer of 2014, when they released their hit single, ‘Girl In A Country Song.’ And they haven’t looked back! Since the hit song went number one and was played on nearly every radio station across the country, the duo has released an EP, a full-length album, and have opened for Dierks Bentley on his 2015 Sounds of Summer tour. With a strong fanbase behind them, Maddie & Tae were ready to go on a tour of their own, and they are doing just that with their Start Here tour, which came through Boston on October 8th.
Fans began lining up early, outside the Paradise Rock Club, which is right on Commonwealth Avenue near the campus of Boston University. The black marquee over the front door had ‘MADDIE & TAE’ in silver letters written out, with ‘All Ages’ to the delight of the duo’s younger fans.
When the doors opened to the venue, fans crowded the stage, trying to get as close to these talented young artists as possible. At about 7:30PM, Nashville’s own Tucker Beathard took the stage with his guitar. While many country fans may recognize him by has last name, as his father is a hit songwriter, Tucker is ready to make a name for himself with the opening spot on the Start Here tour. Tucker kicked off the night with ‘Smokin’ Things’ and ‘Rock On’ before taking the time to introduce himself to the crowd and saying, “This is my first time playing in Boston. But so far I love it,” to the approval of the fans in attendance. He continued his set with ‘Closest Thing’ and ‘Home Sweet’ before finishing his night with ‘God and my Guitar’ and ‘Whiskey.’ For the fans who didn’t know Tucker Beathard’s name when they arrived at the Paradise Rock Club, they sure did by the time he left the stage. Beathard made a great impression on the Boston crowd and ended up with hundreds of new fans.
It was only a few minute before the silhouettes of band members began to take the stage and as the lights came up, Maddie & Tae came from behind the stage with their acoustic guitars in hand. The duo began their night in Boston with ‘Right Here, Right Now,’ a playful song off of their debut ‘Start Here’ album and continued with ‘No Place Like You’ and ‘Your Side of Town.’ One of the challenges of being a new artist with only so much music under your belt, is filling an entire setlist. But Maddie & Tae was able to successfully do it with a few covers throughout the night, the first being a great cover of Dolly Parton’s ‘9 to 5.’ And after finishing the classic country song, the two young ladies explained how they love to fish and one of their biggest mistakes was bringing along two fellas who thought it was more than just a fishing trip. Of course, they two were leading into their next song, ‘Shut Up and Fish.’
Maddie & Tae next played ‘Waitin’ On A Plane,’ and ‘Boomerang,’ a song they co-wrote and can be found on Jana Kramer’s new album, titled ‘Thirty One.’ They then proceeded to blow the roof off the Paradise Rock Club with a cover of Justin Timberlake’s ‘Mirrors,’ which impressed the crowd with their country twang applied to the hit pop song. They then slowed it down with their latest single, ‘Fly,’ with Maddie taking a moment mid-song to say “Oh my gosh. It never gets old hearing you sing these words. Thank you so much!” Maddie later proclaimed to the crowd, “I was so happy we were coming to Boston, because you are so loyal to us.” It’s hard not to be loyal to Maddie & Tae with all that they bring to the genre!
One of the many things that we really love about these two is that they have written their songs off of their real life experiences, and that was seen throughout their album. Next up on their setlist was ‘The Downside of Growing Up,’ a song which Maddie explained leading up to the album, “I was having a tough night, knowing no one in a new place. It hit me being growing up is hard! I got my guitar to make me feel better, because that’s where I sort this stuff…” After performing ‘Smoke,’ it was again time for them to setup a song with the story behind the song. The gist behind the song? There was a mean, beauty queen bully in Maddie’s school who would pick on her and others, even saying that ‘Maddie Marlow won’t make it in country music. She’s not pretty enough. She’s not good enough.’ Maddie told the crowd, “Never let someone define yourself, you are pretty enough. You are good enough,” before going into the song, ‘Sierra.’ And the joke is now on the real-life Sierra, wherever she is, because Maddie Marlow HAS made it and is one half of a hit country duo! As the lyrics say, ‘You’re gonna find out that karma’s a…’
The night was coming to an end but the crowd wasn’t going to let Maddie & Tae get off too easy. The ladies would play an awesome cover of Rihanna’s ‘Umbrella,’ before transitioning into their hit number one song, ‘Girl In A Country Song.’ Yeah, baby! With the crowd singing along to every word, even the guys in attendance, the two waved goodbye to the crowd and said, “Boston, you’ve been so good to us,” before disappearing backstage. While many fans thought the night was over as they played their hit song, many stayed, calling for an encore and the ladies didn’t disappoint, returning to the stage for an emotional performance of ‘After The Storm Blows Through,’ and wrapping up their night with a cover of the Dixie Chicks’ ‘Cowboy Take Me Away.’
Maddie & Tae have taken the country genre by storm in the past year and a half. And their performance in Boston showed exactly why. They are the epitome of country music. Born and raised in the Heartland, writing on personal experience that relates to their fans. There is no debating that Maddie & Tae are country and even more, they are such great influences and role models on the younger fans that look up to them. And that’s on top of the incredible stage presence and musical talent that each possess on their own and collectively as a duo. If you missed out on their show in Boston, you shouldn’t worry, Maddie & Tae will be a force in country music for years to come. This was just of the many steps in the beginning of their promising careers.
