Michael Marcagi

Schedule

Tue Feb 11 2025 at 08:00 pm

UTC-05:00

Location

1214 Williston Rd S. Burlington VT 05403 | South Burlington, VT

$20 Advance | $25 Day of Show
All Ages
--
Cincinnati singer-songwriter Michael Marcagi’s ascent is a homegrown success story. With a career built largely through grassroots social media support, the folk-rock singer has demonstrated that listeners are hungry for earnest storytelling rooted in age-old American musical traditions. Marcagi announced himself with “The Other Side,” a depiction of the claustrophobia of small-town life, but it was his cinematic tribute to taking a leap of faith— “Scared to Start” —that pushed his TikTok view counts into the millions. In a few short weeks, he had built a legion of eager fans and secured a record deal with just two songs to his name. His debut Warner Records EP, American Romance, expands on that promise, highlighting the timeless sound and engaging sense of emotional truth that has made Marcagi’s music so immediately compelling.
Though he grew up playing and singing in rock bands, Marcagi always struggled to envision himself as a solo artist. However, his persistent desire to record some of his sparer acoustic songs—ones he rarely dared to perform in public—eventually inspired him to try his luck. Dipping into his savings, he trekked to upstate New York, decamping to a studio outside of Woodstock to work with producer David Baron (Lana Del Rey, The Lumineers, Shania Twain). The two assembled a team of crack musicians to bolsterMarcagi’s intimate and unvarnished guitar and vocal performances, employing folk and bluegrass instrumentation, cavernous rock drums, and luxuriant vocal harmonies.
All of the songs Marcagi recorded—including the five on American Romance—mix authentic storytelling with sadness, frustration, and ennui. Avoiding confessional outpourings, he turns his experiences growing up in the Midwest into vignettes exploring the cracks in human relationships. By his own account, coming from a largely conservative and religious town meant that a tightly prescribed set of family values were passed onto him. The EP’s title track explores this directly, sketching scenes from an archetypal failed marriage of teen sweethearts.
“There are all these familial norms you have to fall into,” Marcagi explains. “I just watched a lot of my friends fall into that trap of getting married really young and then watching it falling apart before they are even thirty.”
Even at his most unsparing, Marcagi is careful not to pass judgment on the decisions of the characters in his songs. If the songs on American Romance carry any message, it is that there is no “right way” to get through life, and that we learn something we can use from every relationship. This message comes through pointedly “In the Light,” which Marcagi claims he connects with more than any other song he’s written. The defiant stomp-along anthem is carried by an infectious mandolin and piano motif and disarmingly direct lyrics: “So fuck all you bought, it ain’t what you got/And be who you need and not what you’re taught/You know from all this pain you cannot hide/And stand there in the light.”
Marcagi never undermines his listeners or takes them for granted. “Audiences are usually smarter than the musicians they are listening to,” he says. For him, there’s plenty of evidence that modern listeners of all generations understand and connect with specificity and sophistication in songwriting. This is part of why he aspires to remain as open and approachable as possible—in both his music and his public persona. If what has happened in his career during the past year is any indication, he may be on to something.
“I want people to feel like they know me,” Marcagi says. “I’ve never really connected to that mysterious rock band thing—four blurry faces in a field where you don’t know who the guys are. I don’t want to hide.”

Where is it happening?

1214 Williston Rd S. Burlington VT 05403, 1214 Williston Rd, South Burlington, VT 05403-5720, United States,South Burlington, Vermont
Higher Ground

Host or Publisher Higher Ground

It's more fun with friends. Share with friends

Discover More Events in South Burlington

Hot 8 Brass Band
Wed Feb 12 2025 at 07:30 pm Hot 8 Brass Band

Showcase Lounge at Higher Ground

MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
The Bad Plus
Thu Feb 13 2025 at 07:30 pm The Bad Plus

1214 Williston Rd S. Burlington VT 05403

MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
The Bad Plus
Thu Feb 13 2025 at 07:30 pm The Bad Plus

Showcase Lounge at Higher Ground

Liliac
Thu Feb 27 2025 at 07:30 pm Liliac

Futurebirds
Mon Sep 09 2024 Futurebirds

Showcase Lounge - Higher Ground

MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
The Warped Tour Band
Fri Nov 15 2024 The Warped Tour Band

Higher Ground - Ballroom

MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway
Thu Nov 21 2024 at 08:00 pm Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway

1214 Williston Rd S. Burlington VT 05403

MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
Nico Suave and The Mothership
Fri Nov 22 2024 at 08:00 pm Nico Suave and The Mothership

1214 Williston Rd S. Burlington VT 05403

MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
Sam Burchfield
Sat Nov 23 2024 at 08:00 pm Sam Burchfield

Showcase Lounge at Higher Ground

MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
Sam Burchfield & The Scoundrels
Sat Nov 23 2024 at 08:00 pm Sam Burchfield & The Scoundrels

Higher Ground

MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
The Little Mermaid Kick-Off Meeting
Mon Dec 02 2024 at 06:30 pm The Little Mermaid Kick-Off Meeting

7 Green Tree Dr, South Burlington, VT, United States, Vermont 05403

ENTERTAINMENT ART
Ali McGuirk
Fri Dec 06 2024 at 07:30 pm Ali McGuirk

1214 Williston Rd S. Burlington VT 05403

MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
Pinky Patel at Higher Ground
Fri Dec 06 2024 at 08:30 pm Pinky Patel at Higher Ground

Higher Ground

ENTERTAINMENT CONCERTS
Pink Talking Fish
Sat Dec 07 2024 at 08:30 pm Pink Talking Fish

1214 Williston Rd S. Burlington VT 05403

MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
Dopapod + lespecial at Higher Ground | Burlington, VT
Sun Dec 08 2024 at 08:30 pm Dopapod + lespecial at Higher Ground | Burlington, VT

Higher Ground

MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
Troy Millette & the Fire Below
Thu Dec 12 2024 at 07:00 pm Troy Millette & the Fire Below

1214 Williston Rd S. Burlington VT 05403

MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
The Four Horsemen
Fri Dec 13 2024 at 09:00 pm The Four Horsemen

1214 Williston Rd S. Burlington VT 05403

MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
12\/OC
Sun Dec 15 2024 at 07:30 pm 12/OC

1214 Williston Rd S. Burlington VT 05403

COUNTRY-MUSIC-FESTIVALS MUSIC
Start Making Sense
Tue Dec 31 2024 at 09:00 pm Start Making Sense

1214 Williston Rd S. Burlington VT 05403

MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
Burning Monk
Sat Jan 11 2025 at 07:30 pm Burning Monk

1214 Williston Rd S. Burlington VT 05403

MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT

What's Happening Next in South Burlington?

Discover South Burlington Events