Hal and Faxes setlist

Halifax has a reputation for missing out on the big shows, and when a band rolls through town their best years are usually well in the rear-view. That pendulum does swing quite often to the opposite extreme, where acts might arrive in town at the start of their ascent, as Halifax stages have played host to major acts such as St. Vincent, Father John Misty, and Beaches in their indie phases, long before they became the darlings of music junkies and journalists worldwide. This writer believes this happened again last month when Michael Marcagi kicked off the Canadian leg of his American Romance tour on the Marquee Ballroom stage at 2037 Gottingen.

Michael and Ryan

It was an average weekday when Marcagi’s tour dates were announced, and as I scrolled through, imagine my surprise when Halifax, NS, was included. The dates were initially released in one of those targeted Spotify announcements, and I immediately reached out to the venue to confirm that this wasn’t a mistake as they quickly confirmed it was legit. If you drew a straight line between the sounds of Noah Kahan and Zack Bryan, Marcagi’s sound would fall squarely between the two; and throw in a dash of Benson Boone’s dynamics, it’s a recipe for success. His tracks “The Otherside”  and subsequent smash follow-up “Scared to Start” garnered the singer-songwriter a viral social media presence.    Marcagi quickly earned himself a rabid Tik-Tok fanbase, which helped pack the Halifax venue for the tour’s opening night.

Jacob, Michael and Ryan

The success of Marcagi’s singles led to the release back in February of his EP American Romance, which featured both “The Other Side” and “Scared to Start”, and a mere three other tracks (the title track, “Savannah”, and “In the Light”). While this all begs the question of how one could headline a concert on the back of an EP and social media following, Marcagi prepared with a set loaded with covers, new material and a newly released single “Good Enough”, which was written with the help of The Lumineers’ Wesley Schulz. The crowd was singing right along to the entirety of the EP, but the inclusion of both Olivia Rodrigo’s “Deja Vu” and Chappell Roan’s “Good Luck Babe”  elicited shrieks of glee from the packed room.

Claire, Moira and Miranda

Local favourites Moira & Claire kicked the night off alongside new member Miranda March. These talented ladies were the perfect pairing, with their lilting folk tunes that are pure aural confectionary. It was the ideal way to prime the crowd for the indie folk-rock to come.

It’s safe to say that for Marcagi’s first Canadian show ever, Halifax turned up in a big way. In the crowd, there were more than a few  Cincinnati Bengals jerseys, which helped welcome the Cinci native to both Halifax and Canada.  After a crowd-pleasing set,  Marcagi made that pre-requisite promise to return once his full-length album is complete.

Michael Marcagi

This is a promise made by many, with the majority failing to follow through, so here’s hoping we see Marcagi keep his word. If Marcagi’s 2024 success is any indication, he might very well be following in the footsteps of fellow singer-songwriter Noah Kahan,  whose meteoric rise could serve as Marcagi’s blueprint.  If that is the case, many folks will be talking about the time they caught Michael Marcagi performing in a bar, in Halifax.

Michael Marcagi

Moira & Claire