Magnus Ferrell Makes His Live Performances A Party For Everyone
Magnus Ferrell is building his own vivid musical world, one refreshingly playful single at a time. He combines warm, jazz-inspired riffs, dream-pop elements, and electric vocals to create tracks that feel cathartic, sunny, and romantic. His joyful presence shines through in every song, automatically brightening your spirit and making it impossible not to dance along. When Ferrell performs, his energy is warm and palpable, and is only amplified by the crowd’s eager enthusiasm.
During his set at Outside Lands, Ferrell brought a cheerful and charming presence to the Twin Peaks stage, adding extra sparkle to his sharp and dazzling discography. He encouraged the crowd to dance and sing along, his bright smile and upbeat dance moves inviting everyone to lose themselves in the music. His camaraderie with his band and the crowd was truly special as he pointed out energetic audience members, joining in on the dance parties they had started with their friends, and called out to people watching from the surrounding hills. Supported by a lovely band, he highlighted his brilliant instrumentalists and vocalists throughout the set, making for a layered and inspired set that filled the grand stage with a mellow, yet buzzing energy.
As he ran through hit tracks such as “New Sensation,” “Waste Your Heart,” and “Hasn’t Even Started Yet,” Ferrell kept the audience engaged with seamless transitions and a magnetic charisma. His smooth vocals blended with the rich instrumentals to build a cheerful environment that amplified his already bright and bubbling sound. Having so quickly connected with the audience, Ferrell made sure to leave a lasting impression as he closed out his set by running down the barricades, high-fiving fans along his route.
Following his groovy performance at the Twin Peaks stage, Ferrell spoke with Off the Record Press about his festival debut, what he hopes listeners take away from his music, and what he has learned about himself through his musical journey thus far.
Your set today was awesome! I had so much fun. How are you feeling after your set today here at Outside Lands?
I feel at peace. I'm so happy to be here. This is the environment that I thrive in. It just makes me happy. I love playing music. I love being with the people that I get to play music with. I’m friends with everybody and they're so talented. Everything you see on stage is my live reaction to how good they are. It's just so fun.
Your band was so great and you had a great crowd going! How does the crowd and your band give you energy and inspire your performances?
I just want it to be a party. If Studio 54 was a concert… that’s kind of my goal.
How does playing your music live inspire you in your personal life?
It inspires me to continue to be social and push myself to do experiences that maybe I wouldn't expect to like and try new things. Without all of that, you don't have any song to write. You don't have a story to tell. You don't have real shit to talk about. The music feeds into life, and then life feeds into the music. It's just this beautiful, awesome cycle, and I am happy that I get to do that.
It's your first festival performance ever. How does performing at a festival differ from your concert performances?
This performance was the first one we had real horns because normally we would just play with tracks and supplement the tracks with live instruments but now we're doing both that and we’ve arranged the songs, we've made them longer, we've put in little instrumental moments. We have moments to show off every single member of the band which is awesome. We're all together. It's one big unit. It's truly a band, not just an individual.
Do you have any fun pre-show rituals that you can share with us?
It changes from show to show. I like to switch it up, but for the most part, I like to go through the motions of the set while listening to recordings of the rehearsals. After that, I do my vocal warmups and stay loose. I try and forget all the practice and just let go and have fun.
Since this is your first festival, what have you learned about yourself and your music after your set?
The more myself I am, the better the show is, the happier I am, and the more fulfilled I feel. I think I have more of a positive effect when I can just be loose. My goal is to be an example for people to feel comfortable enough to have fun and dance. I want to encourage people to express themselves and whatever that looks like, that's the correct way.
