Gallery and Review: Peter McPoland in Boston, MA on 10/14/2023
Repost from Tour Life Mag [defunct]
Peter McPoland’s performance at the Royale in Boston left fans needing and wanting more. The now Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter provided a stunning performance for the second stop on his current North American tour. This tour is to commemorate the release of his second album, Piggy, which was named in reference to a character in the book Lord of the Flies.
The first single released off of Piggy was “Digital Silence,” which McPoland first teased on TikTok in early February of 2023. The audio clip went viral, leading the song to a very successful release in April and putting it at second for McPoland’s most-streamed songs on Spotify. He originally rose to fame after his song “Romeo & Juliet” gained traction on TikTok, which eventually led to him getting signed with Columbia Records in 2021.
Accompanying McPoland on tour is indie-pop artist Stephen Dawes, who also got a lot of his fame due to TikTok popularity. Dawes did an indie-folk style cover of Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream,” which now has over 150 million streams on Spotify. His debut EP, The Day We Met, will be released during this tour cycle on October 27. He was an energetic and lovely opener, engaging with the crowd at times and playing his released singles along with some tracks that will be releasing on this coming EP. Dawes greeted fans with a smile at the merch booth after his set and overall did a wonderful job at hyping the crowd up for McPoland’s set.
As lights projected his name on a screen and a large pig statue was centered on stage, McPoland walked on with fans cheering and screaming his name. He opened with an instrumental intro track, which entered into “Mold”, the first track off of Piggy. McPoland’s energy was some of the greatest I’ve seen of a stage performer, as he ran around the stage dancing and goofing off. His setlist was a great blend of both old and new songs, sprinkled with some unreleased gems.
Multiple times throughout the set, McPoland would jump off the stage and greet fans at the barricade. During his song “Turn Off The Noise,” he hopped into the crowd and danced with the fans in a moment that felt like it could be straight out of a movie. He closed off his set with just as much energy as he started with, playing his two biggest hits. The crowd went wild as they screamed the lyrics to “Romeo & Juliet” and “Digital Silence” with him.
McPoland walked off stage, emphasizing the words he’d said throughout the set: “I need you, I miss you, I love you, and I want you forever baby.”
Keep up with Peter McPoland and catch the second half of his tour here: https://www.petermcpoland.com/
