A Hidden Gem in the Music Scene: Peter McPoland

The opener charged across the stage like a headliner for every song, where a microphone stand didn’t hold him back. He called himself our cool uncle running the warm-up for Twenty One Pilots. He belted heartbreaking lyrics with a voice left raspy from going all out at Madison Square Garden the night before. He grabbed the cymbal from the drumset and started smashing it on beat with his hand. I remember taking a photo of the screen behind him, making sure to note his name to look up later: Peter McPoland. 

With numerous singles and just releasing an EP that year, “Slow Down,” McPoland had a mix of folk songs, piano-based ballads, and a sprinkle of high-energy indie pop songs when I first saw him in 2022. Now, I have traveled to the land of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to see McPoland’s tour following the release of his second studio album, Big Lucky. I have seen McPoland before, attending the last show for the 2023 “Piggy Tour” for his debut album by the same name. “Piggy” marked a heavy, surprising shift to angsty indie rock. “Piggy” was the man I saw smashing a cymbal times 100. 

Years later, I waited outside the venue in Philly, unaware of any tour spoilers besides that McPoland was now touring with his high school band and that “Piggy” was rarely on the setlist. The “Piggy Tour” featured the album nearly in its entirety, creating a show brimming with guitar solos, grungy screams, and one-footed dance moves from McPoland. He wore a bedazzled boot on the foot he had broken when he jumped into the pit earlier in the tour, hence the creative dance moves. “Big Lucky” is acoustic-heavy, with a mix of folk-rock and stripped-back production, nearly the opposite of the electronic alternative record “Piggy.” What did the “Big Lucky Tour” have in store?

Mcpoland entered the stage with no backing track. Just his acoustic guitar and three bandmates, all surrounding a single microphone. In an acapella/acoustic version of McPoland’s “Dead Air,” layered harmonies led the erupting crowd to silence as they watched in awe. Yet, when the bridge of the song came around, the crowd screamed the lyrics back at a smiling McPoland. 

At a McPoland show, studio versions become a distant memory for 90 minutes as reimagined live versions completely change your perception of his discography. From call and response moments that you can’t unhear, to genre switches, to interludes added to a track for an eventual beat drop to make the crowd go insane, McPoland’s show knows no range. Singing “Good Day,” McPoland made beautiful use of a harmonica holder to play acoustic guitar and harmonica solos I didn’t know I needed. With a waltz rhythm, McPoland smoothly transfers from “Slow Down” into “Mary Anne.” Then “Piggy” had its moment of screaming into the microphone and guitar solos with the rock track “Blue.”

In another acapella moment, all instruments were stripped away as McPoland and his band covered “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,” an African-American spiritual hymn. The crowd fell silent. As McPoland’s voice led, and his bandmates offered high and low harmonies, the room was filled with a serene calm and attentiveness. The lights shone brightly, highlighting the center of the stage, creating stunning imagery for the ethereal moment. In a cheerful segment, the crowd clapped and stomped during the second verse as McPoland’s bandmates made use of their impressive lower registers. A show-stopping high note from McPoland closed the song, as he then joked about how he never knows whether he will hit it or not. 

In a playful but honest manner, McPoland discussed “Piggy” and the anger that generated the angsty record. “No 22-year-old should be that angry, and that's not me anymore. I used to just sing slow songs, and then I did ‘Piggy.’” For context, “Piggy,” in my interpretation of the album, describes a persona or version of yourself that is insecure, in pain, and most certainly angry. In a moment of candidness, with a hint of cringe humor, McPoland ended his speech, stating, “I’m not ‘Piggy,’ I’m just Peter, and that’s all I got to be.” 

This moment provided a lovely transition into McPoland’s “Romeo & Juliet,” one of the “slow songs” from his early career that landed him a deal with Columbia Records in 2021. Much of McPoland’s popularity has come from TikTok, yet nearly everyone I have met at his shows discovered him as an opener for the Twenty One Pilots’ Icy Tour in 2022. 

In homage to his internet fame, McPoland and fans shout “T I K T O K, TIKTOK!” spelling the letters in YMCA fashion, before the popular second verse of his iconic “Digital Silence.” 

The song blew up, surprise, on TikTok for its political commentary and jarring nature, as well as its heavy, attractive rock and electronic production. 

McPoland’s show sadly had to come to an end, as he closed with his upbeat love song, “Place Like This.” The closer was riddled with everything Peter McPoland: white boy dance moves, random noises into the microphone, and screaming random lyrics out of excitement. Ultimately, McPoland jumped into the pit with an electric guitar in hand to end the show, dancing with fans and letting them scream the final lyrics. 

“Peter McPoland is underrated” is an understatement. Having been to many shows over my time as a concertgoer, the sun always feels a little brighter in the weeks after a McPoland show. It was actually sunny in Philadelphia as we waited in line for his show. McPoland’s imperfect artistry, fan adlibs, unhingedness, and attention to detail create an experience unlike any other on the “Big Lucky Tour.”