Maggie Rogers Honors Liam Payne With Poignant One Direction Cover At TD Garden

Maggie Rogers took a moment during her concert Thursday night at TD Garden in Boston to honor One Direction’s Liam Payne, who tragically died Wednesday at age 31. Rogers performed a heartfelt solo piano cover of One Direction’s “Night Changes” in tribute to Payne.

Payne died after falling from the balcony of a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina. As a member of One Direction, Payne contributed to the group’s five albums, four of which topped Billboard’s 200 Albums chart, the fifth peaking at #2. Payne’s lone solo album, LP1, was released in 2019.

Payne’s One Direction bandmates — Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik — issued a joint statement responding to Payne’s untimely death. Their message stated:

We’re completely devastated by the news of Liam’s passing. In time, and when everyone is able to, there will be more to say. But for now, we will take some time to grieve and process the loss of our brother, who we loved dearly. The memories we shared with him will be treasured forever.

For now, our thoughts are with his family, his friends, and the fans who loved him alongside us. We will miss him terribly.

We love you Liam.
Louis, Zayn, Niall and Harry

During her concert last night in Boston, Rogers — who attended the nearby Berklee College of Music — was seated at a piano when the 30-year-old singer-songwriter spoke to the TD Garden audience.

“This week in particular, I’ve been thinking just how precious life is and how quickly things can change. I was getting ready to go to dinner last night with one of my oldest friends, Claire – who I’ve known since I was 9 years old, going to summer camp in Maine – and she walked into my room and told me Liam Payne had died.

“We’re just about the same age, and any time a public figure – especially a musical peer, slips off, it’s really present. I’ve been sending a bunch of love to my friends in that band the last couple of days, or the last couple of hours – it’s felt like days. I wanted to just honor anyone who’s been touched by that music or those songs.”

Rogers then delivered a stirring, slowed down arrangement of “Night Changes.” The song appeared on One Direction’s fourth album, 2014’s Four. View clips posted of the tribute below: