It’s a late February afternoon: the Wednesday sky is blue and warm after a weekend of unfamiliar rain, and San Diego is back to looking like a postcard.
A dozen or so fans have already formed a line outside SOMA, three hours before the venue doors even open.“Oh my god, wait. That’s them! Look! I’m not joking!” a young woman next to me whisper-shouts as she grabs her friend’s arm, pointing ahead. She’s right.
almost monday strolls up to the line, looking like they stepped straight off their tour poster, smiling and effortlessly cool. The trio, Dawson Daugherty (vocals), Luke Fabry (bass) and Cole Clisby (guitar), hand the fourth man with them an iPhone, exchange a few words we can’t quite hear, and start filming a TikTok. One band member glances over, grinning, “Social media…” They nail it in one take, wave to the fans, and disappear into the venue’s dark entrance. “That’s so them. I love how down to earth they are,” someone else in line says, smiling, almost as if they were talking to themselves.
Tonight, Feb. 19, marks the third-to-last show of the U.S. leg of “The DIVE Tour,” almost monday’s first-ever headlining tour with their debut album. The band spent 2024 playing across Asia, hitting major cities like Tokyo, Seoul and even Manila. They’ve toured before, opening for The Driver Era last year and checking off iconic venues across the country, but this show is different. This one is home.
Daugherty, Fabry and Clisby grew up in North County, San Diego, playing backyard gigs and surf shop shows before officially putting out their first single in 2020. “We’d just play shows in the back of surf shops and invite all our friends,” Fabry recalls. “We didn’t have any music out, it was very unprofessional. Over time, we took it more seriously and started writing songs.”
“Honestly, those were some of my favorite shows ever,” Daugherty says. “There was a surf shop called UNIV, and I actually just met someone at a flea market in Encinitas who told me, ‘Oh, when I was in junior high, my sister would take us to the UNIV shows.’ It feels so high school, like coming-of-age. You’re just playing in the back of a surf shop. Those memories age well in my mind.”
I know what you’re thinking, would they ever go back to that? “Heck yeah, those shows were sick. We should do that again,” Daugherty says with a laugh.
We’re sitting in the green room at SOMA, the legendary all-ages venue that has hosted artists like Eddie Vedder, No Doubt, Radiohead and Green Day. Surrounded by posters of these icons, the band is still as humble as ever, even pulling me a chair to face them for a more “professional interview” set up before sprawling out on a velvet couch across from me.
Fabry remembers his first time at SOMA. “I was around 15 (years old). To even be backstage now, it’s really special. I think it’s probably one of the most, I don’t know if iconic is the right word, legendary venues in San Diego that’s independent and cool. We’ve played bigger ones, but this feels like a rite of passage.”
A few hours later, the three take the stage, transforming Soma’s grungy, dimly lit atmosphere into their own. Dressed effortlessly cool, Daugherty sports forest green pants with a canvas workwear-style button-up, swapping his clear frames for black sunglasses. Fabry wears a micro-plaid print button-up with blue jeans, while Clisby keeps it laid-back in a blue shirt and brown jeans. Their outfits are San Diego through and through. The set kicks off with “dive,” and from that moment, it’s an hour of complete surf-pop-rock bliss. Daugherty immediately starts dancing, fully embodying frontman energy, even spinning and falling into the drum set—a memorable way to open the show.
As almost monday moves through their setlist, “is it too late?,” “can’t slow down,” “cough drops,” “only wanna dance,” “never enough,” the crowd packs in, shoulder to shoulder, singing along with peace signs and heart hands raised, clapping in sync. The band really does thrive live, their tracks almost indistinguishable from their studio recordings but with an added current. Between Daugherty’s swim-inspired dance moves, Fabry and Clisby’s back-to-back guitar riffs and playful karate fights mid-set, it’s very clear: everyone is just having fun.
The set only gets better when they launch into “tidal wave,” a fan favorite. Beats ripple through SOMA, wrapping the venue in an almost sun-dazed atmosphere (despite the dark, windowless walls). Daugherty’s effortless vocals and the song’s steady rhythm pull the crowd into an easy, undeniable sway. Then there’s “jupiter” (currently getting recognized on TikTok with its own dance) pulling the kind of sun-soaked energy that feels like a love letter to San Diego. “holiday,” a song that wasn’t always a band favorite but has become one of their favorites to play live, set the entire venue in motion from front to back, while nodding to their roots with “coast to coast,” a track made for rolling the windows down on Interstate 8.
San Diego’s always been a big part of almost monday’s sound, but it’s taken on a new meaning for them over time. After their last tour, the band says it was the first time they really looked at home from a fresh perspective. Being on the road gave them new experiences and inspiration they wouldn’t have had if they’d stayed put. Still, no matter where they go, they’re quick to say San Diego’s the best place in the world.
“Welcome home!” someone in the crowd shouts.
Daugherty grins. “Feels so good to be home. We love you San Diego. Thank you so much, we’ve got a few more for you…I wanna see you move!”
And they mean it. After months on the road, playing to thousands, nothing hits quite like this.
“When we’re on the road, we have so many experiences. It feels like you live a year compacted into a month, so when we come back, there’s a lot more to write about,” Fabry explains earlier in the afternoon. “This morning, waking up to the salty air was refreshing. We just came from the desert and the coldest parts of the country…puffer jackets every day. Finally getting to wear T-shirts again…it’s nice coming home.”
Through the hazy stage lights—pinks, blues, purples, greens—almost monday channels a blend of funky basslines with this distinct coastal cool influence. If summer had a soundtrack, it would sound something like this. They glide through hits like “you look so good,” “sequoia,” “she likes sports” and “sunburn,” teasing new songs like “lost” along the way, only pausing for Dawson to grab an audience member’s phone for a mid-show selfie.
But nothing compares to “can’t slow down” which was performed earlier in the set. Just weeks ago, the track hit No. 1 on the Billboard charts.
“We were in Denver when we found out,” Daugherty recalls. “Michele—shoutout, Michele—sent us a tweet from Billboard. Even the lingo was surreal. ‘Almost Monday scores first No. 1.’ It was so headline-y. But it was a sick moment. I kept telling everyone, so many little moments have to come together for one big moment to be seen. It’s a testament to just committing to the love of making music and being in a band.”
And to think the song almost didn’t make the album….
“We shelved it,” Clisby admits. “Didn’t finish it. Then Luke and Daws were like, ‘That sounds like a good chorus,’ so we went back in the studio. The verses were really bad. We reworked them, and yeah, we’ve done that on a few songs now. But if there’s one good part, you can change the rest and make it better. We stuck with it, and it ended up being better.”
Fabry chimes in, “Dawson said this—live audiences are the original algorithm. You can just see how people react.”
And if the crowd’s reaction says anything, it’s that they never wanted the night to end. As almost monday closes with “sun keeps on shining” (unreleased) and “life goes on,” the room is quite literally a sea of jumping bodies, shoulders bumping, arms flailing. The band snaps a film photo of the crowd before saying their final thank-yous, taking a moment to soak in an audience filled with family and some of their earliest supporters before disappearing offstage.
Daugherty reflects on their time touring overseas. “During “The DIVE Tour” in Asia, every time it just feels… Luke said it two days ago, you almost dissociate. You’re like, ‘This is me?’ But then you see Japanese fans singing every word, and it’s surreal.”
For a moment, as they step offstage, they look weightless, coasting. While the U.S. leg of their tour ends on Feb. 22, in just a week, they’ll be back at it, taking “The DIVE Tour” to the U.K. It’s a quick turnaround. Behind the curtain, there’s the reality of cramped van sleep, loading gear in the cold, even getting sick in St. Louis (as Daugherty pointed out). But they don’t mind. They’re doing what they love.
“We invested in each other as friends,” Daugherty says. “We committed to friendship and making music that inspires us. It’s weird to see where you can go… If you love it, just keep doing it. Keep chasing it. That’s what we did.”
Tickets for their Asia tour are still available. Keep up with all things almost monday—including their latest tour dates and, of course, their TikToks.
