REVIEW: An Evening with Maya Hawke
04/10 @ Levon Helm Studios, Woodstock
Photo by David Sims
“Very quickly, the veneer of “Maya from Stranger Things” fell by the wayside. Instead, what emerged was “Maya, the gifted writer and musician.” The audience wasn’t there for novelty; they were really hearing her and appreciating the work she was debuting.”
A chill was settling on an otherwise picturesque spring day in Woodstock, NY, but that had no effect on the long line outside of Levon Helm Studios on Friday. Maya Hawke — of Stranger Things, Little Women, and Inside Out 2 fame — was playing a show to support her fourth studio album, Maitreya Corso, releasing May 1.
As the sun set, the line grew longer. Young people eagerly talked about the last time they had seen Hawke and concocted a dream setlist of her songs, no matter how unlikely.
The conversation noticeably quieted when entering Levon Helm Studios, a space famous for being remarkably intimate. The venue feels like entering someone’s home, complete with carpeting and soft lighting. When spending a moment in the homey bathroom, it was easy to forget you would open the door to a buzzing crowd, instead of someone’s living room.
The lights dimmed and gentle, ambient guitar music played while Hawke, her collaborator and husband Christian Lee Hutson, and multi-instrumentalist Odessa Jorgensen, who would be playing violin and providing backing vocals for the evening, walked out. The applause was uproarious for such a small venue, a stark contrast from seconds before, when the audience was so quiet in anticipation you could hear the crickets chirping in the woods outside.
“I’m so happy and terrified that you’re here!” Hawke stated with a playful smile. She and Hutson explained that the evening would be almost entirely new and unreleased songs, so it might feel a bit like a rehearsal instead of a concert. Right off the bat, their honesty was refreshing. This wasn’t a sanitized act, devoid of spontaneity with pre-written banter between songs, but the crowd could never be upset by it. On the contrary, it completely charmed the audience and opened them up to what would be an evening full of authenticity.
The trio started in, crafting a delicate, beautiful indie/folk sound, complete with tight and jaw-droppingly gorgeous harmonies, with especially impressive high notes from Jorgensen. It was difficult not to think of Grammy award-winning folk trio, Nickel Creek, who also sound like they were made to play together.
Immediately it became clear that a hallmark in Hawke’s work is interesting, introspective lyrics, which elicited soft wows throughout the evening. A poignant audience favorite was about a self-destructive friend, featuring the lyrics, “Hurting yourself isn’t going to teach anybody a lesson / I hope you know you deserve to be the person I thought you were.”
Though some lyrics were a bit on the sadder side, the upcoming album spans several emotions, with many of the new songs all about love. Unsurprising, since Hawke and Hutson married in February. Hawke laughed into some of the lyrics and smiled in spite of herself, her joy obvious, particularly during the more love-focused songs. “What if I got what I wanted / I’m in love with a person who’s in love with me.”
Another highlight of the show was seeing Hawke and Hutson’s dynamic as they bantered back and forth at the memory of writing songs. Hawke introduced one song by apologizing for a “blasphemous lyric” within the piece. The song, a lovely piece about building a dream house in her mind — sure to be a standout on the album — features the lyric, “It doesn’t snow much upstate.” She says this past winter proved her wrong, but on the bright side, maybe the freezing weather will get rid of the ticks. “We can’t let those little demons win!” Hutson backs her up, explaining, “We don’t negotiate with ticks; our dog stays in the bed,” causing the audience to laugh and nod their heads in agreement.
Something interesting about Levon Helm Studios is that a “standing room” ticket earns you a spot on a balcony looking down at the performance, but also directly above it, framing the performers like a proscenium stage. Throughout the night, the fan’s reactions felt like a part of the show. They smiled softly at the sweet lyrics about love, leaned on an elbow looking at the musicians adoringly, and swayed together, arm in arm, during some of the more emotional songs.
Very quickly, the veneer of “Maya from Stranger Things” fell by the wayside. Instead, what emerged was “Maya, the gifted writer and musician.” The audience wasn’t there for novelty; they were really hearing her and appreciating the work she was debuting.
The message of the evening came with the song “Heavy Rain,” which Hawke explained may or may not be her favorite song on the new record, depending on how the performance went. She revealed that the piece is particularly difficult to perform live. Proving her right, Hutson, while quite adept at guitar, was unsatisfied with how he started the song, apologized to the crowd, and started the song over.
After that, everything fell into place, but it was an important, humanizing moment. Hawke took some time at the end of the show to explain that she felt like she had pulled a prank on herself for many years. “I’ve been too scared to play guitar my entire life. I think this happens to a lot of women. Your guitar gathers dust in the corner and suddenly it’s been ten years. Get up and play badly. It doesn’t have to be perfect or right.”
Hawke’s message landed on the audience. The time will pass anyway. Don’t prank yourself by eternally thinking of what might have been, had you picked up that guitar, wrote a new poem, or returned to a childhood hobby. With any luck, the young people in the audience planning their dream setlists for Hawke might one day have dream setlists planned for themselves.
Maitreya Corso will be released on May 1 through the label Mom+Pop Music. Until then, enjoy the new singles off the album, “Bring Home My Man” and “Devil You Know” on all streaming platforms. Find the musicians on Instagram @maya_hawke, @christianleehutson, @thisisodessa.