Concert Review: Sam MacPherson Is A Boy Meets World

Moody boys will always be a mood, at least, sonically. Sam McPherson hit Mercury Lounge like he was the 90s sitcom Boy Meets World, and we were watching him perform the love, heartbreak, and songs of growth he dedicated to Topanga. There was something so sweet, aesthetic, simple, and vulnerable to his show that made it feel classically ornate and binge-able. 

I know I called him a ¨moody boy,¨ but I am saying that not in a cheesy or even diminishing way. There is something boyish, and, in turn, ¨moody¨ about Sam’s sound and style. It is not a negative mood as much a yo-yo of feelings and self-discoveries met when you have your heart on your sleeve, and you just can’t understand if life wants you to hide or honor that its there. He is like the Waymond of Pop: kind-hearted, broken.hearted, and 100% surrounded by fanatic cheerleaders that live off his every belt and … he can BELT.

I wrote this with Tei Shi and noticed it with Sam too, and maybe it is because we live in a TikTok metaverse, but now, more than ever, artists are their image. We follow them like they and Netflix series, and to his audience he was a YA novel and we really wanted him to stay  with Laura Jean. It may sound stupid or silly, but when you are an artist amidst a plethora of artists with a guitar and love-songs written on a diner napkln, its not so easy to feel like you stand out. You have to make yourself not only an image but almost a live-áction sitcom. 

When you are an artist, especially a place like New York, it can feel like you are one of a million and not in. Its filled with vibes and aesthetics that have made the game, especially post-pandemic, feel like you cannot just have brand, you have to have a show. You have to make people dream not only through your music, but your very presence. I guess to his fans Sam was not simply a mood, he was a dream.  For More Info Click Here.