After their live shows were canceled in 2021 due to the pandemic, up-and-coming band almost monday, who came to form the band over their love for music and their hometown in North San Diego County, is officially on the road for the first time to deliver their uplifting pop-rock sound to a larger audience. 

The budding trio recently played the first live show of their tour in Santa Ana this past Thursday night at the Observatory OC’s Constellation Room. The pop-rock group will head to additional cities — Sacramento, Salt Lake City, Tempe, Houston and Dallas — before concluding their tour in their hometown of San Diego March 5. 

“We made this band because we all liked playing live, so as I’m sure everyone imagines, we’ve just been waiting so long to be able to do it again," Daugherty said. “Now we’re just playing these little venues everywhere in California and in other cities where we’re able to meet people who like our band and our music. It’s one of the best feelings ever, and we’re excited for it.”

almost monday is an American alternative pop-rock trio from San Diego, California. The band started with  two lifelong friends — 23-year-olds Dawson Daugherty (vocals, guitar) and Luke Fabry (bass) — and the duo was later joined by surfing companion Cole Clisby (guitar), who secured the trio’s final spot. 

Los Angeles based drummer and friend of Daugherty, Rafael Vidal, will also be joining almost monday on their tour this month to play drums onstage and support the band at all of their live shows.  

The band officially debuted in 2019 with their hit single, "broken people," which has garnered over 9 million streams on audio and video streaming platforms. almost monday has gone on to release numerous singles since their debut and two EPs titled, "don’t say you’re ordinary" and "til the end of time." 

The group told The Panther they hope to drop more new music as soon as their month-long tour concludes. 

“We’re going to stick with releasing more singles for now and maybe roll into another EP soon,” Fabry said. “We would really love to do an album too. It’s every artist’s dream to put together something cohesive, so we’re currently still trying to figure out how to walk through that process.” 

almost monday’s Santa Ana live show kept the audience engaged from start to finish. The band’s one-hour set included hit songs, "broken people," "parking lot view" and "come on come on," as well as a few unreleased singles "sunburn" and "cough drop," which the band stated will be released later on this year.

Interaction between the band and the crowd, along with the venue’s multicolored stage lights and open floor space, encouraged concertgoers to dance and sing-along during the entirety of the concert.

The San Diego trio has been waiting almost a year to finally play live shows for their fans, after having had to cancel their shows during the peak of the pandemic in 2021. 

Even with almost monday being rather new to the live music scene, the band has been able to collaborate with many other music artists during the early stages of their career. almost monday’s EP was produced by Mark Needham (Fleetwood Mac, The Killers) as well as Simon Oscroft (The Naked and Famous, The Aces). 

The band has also worked alongside Grammy-nominated music duo SOFI TUKKER (Sophie Hawley-Weld and Tucker Halpern) on a remix of the trio’s debut song, "broken people." The band said they hope to collaborate with even more music artists further down the road.

“Someone that fits our music style who I would love to collaborate with would be Rex Orange County or someone like him,” Clisby said. “He would be a lot of fun to hang out with at the studio.” 

With inspiration from household names like David Bowie and Gorillaz, the pop-rock trio have curated a signature style for themselves that showcases their true, golden San Diego roots.

“Our songs are most known as being — windows down, driving by the beach, just blasting it with some friends.” Daugherty said. “I've heard that a couple times from fans and it makes me really happy. I feel that’s probably unintentionally what we’re trying to do with our music.” 

The band, almost monday, began gigging together at surf shops and small venues in San Diego throughout their high school years. Moving forward, the band has continued to make a name for themselves, accumulating over 400,000 monthly listeners on Spotify. 

“Focusing on the music is our main goal, and with everything that’s going on and all this saturation, our hope is that quality will cut through,” Fabry said. “Trying to have fun with it too is equally important, because it’s not worth doing if it isn’t something you enjoy.” 

The band will also be performing at the 2022 Governor’s Ball Music Festival from June 10 -12 in New York City alongside various music artists, including JACK HARLOW, Glass Animals, Halsey and Kid Cudi. To learn more about the band and stay up-to-date with their tour journey, make sure to follow them on Spotify and Instagram, @almostmonday.

almost monday is currently still on tour until early March, with tickets still available for under $20 on their band’s website and at participating Ticketmaster locations.