I Just Read About That…

[ATTENDED: October 15, 2025] Margaret Glaspy

I have seen Margaret Glaspy three times.  She announced an acoustic show last year but I was unable to go.  I don’t know what she played that night, but a show around that time shows that the set was similar but not exactly the same.

Margaret’s tour manager setup the stage very nicely–a cool old fashioned microphone which was closer to her guitar than her mouth but which picked up everything perfectly–a rug, two guitars and a stool with capo and harmonica.  After a few minutes Margaret came up and took the stage.

Getting this out of the way: there was a guy there who immediately showed YEAH MARGARET!  Totally not reading the room which was quiet and respectful.  That would have been bad enough, but he shouted it before just about every song.  Everyone else was clapping politely and sometimes loudly, but this guy–holy cow.  He also whooped occasionally during the songs.  It was really weird and I feel like maybe Margaret was annoyed by it too.  It startled everyone in the room.

She grabbed her guitar and started playing.  Somehow I missed that she released an EP in 2024 called The Sun Doesn’t Think (she was selling shirts for this release and I wasn’t sure what they were talking about).  The first song Would You Be My Man? was from that EP.  It features great lyrics:

There’s a few numbers in my book, that you don’t know about
But you don’t need to know about them
And a few photos that I took, that you don’t know about
But I’ll let you know if you need to know about it
Yeah I had a life, that you don’t know about
And you don’t need to know about it
But would you be my, would you be my
Would you be my man?

I believe that Margaret is happily married, but boy she has amazing kiss off songs. Up next was her first cover of the night.  Earlier this year she released a covers EP and all three songs that she played come from it.  The first one was The Book of Love.  I’m so used to Stephen Merrit’s deep voice that it was weird hearing Margaret’s delicate voice singing it.

After playing Bathtub from the previous EP, she played some brand new songs.  She had earlier said she had a lot of new songs for us.  The first was Michigan, which was about an ex travelling from New York to Michigan to try to win her back (it doesn’t work).  Then a song about MLK.  I liked it especially the verses, although it was weird to hear her singing his name as part of the chorus.  After one more new song she played her favorite Lucinda Williams song Fruits of My Labor.

During one of these songs, she grabbed the harmonica holder.  And when she was ready to play the harmonica, she realized it was in backwards–rookie mistake!  She laughed it off and we all had a good chuckle before she played some nice harmonica.

Then she delighted me by playing Memories from Echo the Diamond.  I was glad that she played a couple songs from her previous album (with nothing older showing up).

That Rose was another new song which was followed by Get Back.  Get Back is one of my favorite songs by her–I love the way she sings the chorus–and damn, she held a note for a really long time (and the crowd didn’t start cheering midway through it either).

I enjoyed 24/7, which was darkly funny.  Although James and Marie was much sadder.

Then she played Have You Ever Seen the Rain a song everyone knows.  But she put her own spin on it and I thought it was great.

She ended the set with two more ne songs, Common Ground and the fantastic I am Both.  Before the song she put a harmonica in the holder–and double checked that she didn’t put it in backwards again.  Then she played this great song with spoken sections and a great I am both refrain.  With lyrics: “He said you talk like such a fool, are you courageous or are you cruel?  I am both.”

She thanked us and left the stage.  In Milkboy, you have to walk through the crowd, and she got through about 4 people when she turned around and decided to do an encore.  As she was thinking of something to play someone shouted Put a Dress on Me and she was gobsmacked.  This is a really deep cut, she said.  It was from a CD that she copied and stamped herself in like 2012.  But she didn’t play that.  I was glad it didn’t turn into people shouting requests because she was clearly trying to pick the best encore song.  Which turned out to be a Bob Dylan song that I didn’t know.  I assumed it was one of her own songs until I checked later.

She had us singing along to the chorus as she faded the song.  And that was that.  A lovely 75 minute set of gorgeous acoustic songs.   I definitely prefer her with her full band, but this felt like a secret intimate show that I was able to enjoy.

And no parking ticket!

§ new (2025)
♥ The Golden Heart Protector (2025)
⊗ The Sun Doesn’t Think EP (2024)
♦ Echo the Diamond (2023)
Ð Devotion (2020)
ß Born Yesterday (2018)
€ Emotions and Math (2016)