While this wasn’t my first time seeing Maya Hawke live, this show felt especially full-circle. During the first week of my freshman year, I caught her set at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, a surreal and unforgettable introduction to both college and her music. Now, in the final stretch of my senior year, I made my way to Pasadena to spend an evening with her at Sid The Cat Auditorium.
Since its opening late last year, I had been eager to visit Sid The Cat. The 500-capacity venue, tucked inside a former elementary school in South Pasadena, hosts shows in its original auditorium, creating a truly nostalgic, almost recital-like atmosphere. Even the bar is set up in an old classroom, and the free, easy parking (a rarity in L.A.) set the tone for a thoughtfully fun night.
The show began promptly at eight, and it quickly became clear that the night would serve as a preview of MAITREYA CORSO, Hawke’s upcoming album set to release on May 1st. The project is a full-length collaboration between Hawke and her husband, Christian Lee Hutson. Throughout the night, she performed alongside a tight-knit group of musicians who brought the new material to life, including Hutson, violinist Odessa Jorgensen, and producer Benjamin Lazar Davis.
Hawke is a true storyteller, whether through her lyrics, casual banter with the crowd, or quiet exchanges with her band. After “Dream House,” she described a property she and Christian once considered: an abandoned home perched beside a cemetery, formerly owned by a grave digger. As she leaned into the absurdity of the story, the crowd responded with laughter. From there, she transitioned seamlessly into “Slacker in the Rye,” opening with a soft, folk-tinged intro that gently settled the room back into stillness.
I really appreciated how Hawke brought us into her world, sharing stories as she introduced each song. She talked about getting caught in an improv exercise that somehow lasted six hours, and how that strange feeling of being stuck in a bit inspired “Last Thoughts on Morning Star.” Her storytelling felt just as essential to the performance as the music itself. It’s rare to leave a concert feeling like you’ve truly gotten to know the artist, but Hawke made that happen. She shared that performing at Lincoln Center is a dream of hers, that she’s even tossed that wish into the Revson Fountain, and that a rainy day there inspired “Heavy Rain.”
Hawke was candid about her love of audience participation, admitting that whenever she attends a comedy show, she secretly hopes to be picked. That energy carried into the crowd with questions ranging from astrology to Avatar. She later performed “Bring Home My Man,” a clear crowd favorite. She mentioned that there had been doubts about releasing it as a single, but the audience’s reaction proved otherwise. For the encore, she returned with “Luna Moth” and “Thérèse,” closing out the night on a note that felt both intimate and celebratory.
