“Funky basslines, ecstatic choruses, and danceable grooves.” Do I have your attention yet? Innings Festival 2022 brought dozens of electric moments (more on that to come), but none more energizing than the weekend’s very first act, almost monday. Living the Fest Life had a chance to sit down for an interview with almost monday’s Dawson Daugherty shortly after their set to discuss everything from success to new music and even some baseball.
About almost monday
Lifelong friends, Dawson and Luke grew up together. After a chance encounter surfing, Dawson and Cole also connected. During college, they formally launched almost monday. Inspired by everyone from David Bowie and Prince to Justice and Gorillaz, they carefully cultivated a signature style and built a following with a series of gigs. After countless garage jams, D.I.Y. gigs in the back of a surf shop, and innumerable hours writing together, almost monday bottle California sunshine in their funky basslines, ecstatic choruses, and danceable grooves. The San Diego trio—Dawson Daugherty (vocals), Cole Clisby (guitar) and Luke Fabry (bass)—has generated millions of streams to date, sold out shows, and released two EPs don’t say your ordinary and til the end of time.
Interview with Dawson Daugherty
LTFL: I’m going to start by going way back. Your first Instagram post as a band was in November 2015 and was super mysterious. Your next post was July 2018 and you were posting with Foster the People. Tell me about that.
Dawson Daugherty: *Laughs* I can’t believe you went all the way back to our first post, that’s amazing. We were actually in Syracuse, NY and a friend of ours was playing the piano and yeah that was kind of just ended up being our first official post as a band. After that we were really just playing shows in the back of this surf shop and one day 91X, the San Diego alternative station asked us if we wanted to play a Foster the People show and yeah it was amazing.
LTFL: Shifting forward a bit, talk to us about what it was like creating music during the pandemic as such a “new” band.
DD: We started this band as a fun way to play music so it was tough during the pandemic but playing music after that and all of these people knowing the words was surreal.
LTFL: Since we’re Living the Fest Life and you’ve now played a handful, what are your thoughts? Did you have a favorite in 2021?
DD: It’s been amazing! Lollapalooza in Chicago was definitely one of the coolest experiences because we were playing these songs on stage that had only ever been on the Internet and we had people singing our songs so that was just so cool.
LTFL: Obligatory Innings question – Are you guys baseball fans?
DD: Go Pads! Yeah we’re big Padres fans, after growing up in San Diego. It was a disappointing end to last season but the team looks really good and there’s a lot to be excited about.
*Lots of Redacted Baseball Talk*
LTFL: So on that topic, what did you think of Innings?
DD: It’s still early in the weekend but it definitely seems like an awesome fest. We were happy to set the tone for all the amazing bands playing.
LTFL: We heard songs like Sunburn and Cough Drops today which begs the question, when can we expect new music?
DD: Yeah we’re really excited about the new music and it’s coming very very soon. I don’t think I’m allowed to say any more than that. *laughs*
LTFL: Last question! If you could set up any tour, opening or headlining, who would you want to play with?
DD: That’s a tough question but probably Tame Impala. He’s amazing and I think that would be a really cool tour.
*End Interview*
What’s Next?
To say almost monday has been one of my favorite finds of 2021-2022 would be a massive understatement. Their music is fantastic and their energy is unmatched. If you want to check them out this year, almost monday will be playing Gov Ball (6/11) and WonderBus (8/27) in addition to their current tour with Joywave. Check out their full dates here and let me know what you think of these guys in the comments!
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