On Friday, August 8th at Outside Lands, I sat down with San Diego’s almost monday ahead of their set. The trio, Dawson Daugherty (vocals), Cole Clisby (guitar), and Luke Fabry (bass), have been making waves with their groovy, sunshine infused indie-pop since their high school days. They’ve racked up over 650 million streams, scored a #1 at ALT Radio with “can’t slow down” (also charting on Top 40 and Hot AC), landed TV placements (Love Island, Hulu, and Surfs Up as a bucket list feature). They also made their late-night debut on Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Their rise has been fueled by sold-out headline shows across the U.S., Europe, and Asia, appearances at major global festivals, and tour support for artists like AJR, The Driver Era, and Joywave, along with an upcoming fall tour with The Band CAMINO.
With infectious music and a magnetic stage presence, almost monday’s California spirit, shared energy, and pure joy in performance make them stand out, something their Outside Lands set proved without question.
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Izzy: How does it feel to be back in San Francisco? You guys were here in February?
Dawson: Yeah, we were.
I was there!
Dawson: Oh, sick. Oh my gosh. Good to see you. [We’re] very excited. We love San Francisco. Every time we’re here, we’re excited to be here. And Outside Lands is one of the best festivals in the world. So to be in SF playing [is] very exciting.
Awesome. And I know you are California natives, are there any differences between SoCal and NorCal?
Luke: I love the trees. That’s one of the things that makes San Francisco unique — you have really cool, forest-y vibes in the city.
Dawson: Good crowds. We’ve had really good shows here. And I’m in agreement on the forest vibe. Forest Beach City vibe.
Cole: It’s got nature, city, food!
Yes! So, “enjoy the ride” just came out. How does that feel?
Dawson: It feels good. With releases, you never know how it goes. It’s cool to have it out in the world and have people listen to it. It’s always weird being kind of desensitized to how many people hear the song… even a thousand people listening to your song … Real human beings, in their car, with their friends or hanging out. That always makes me excited about a new release like “oh, wow, there are people listening to this right now”. That’s crazy..
To me, “enjoy the ride” is about appreciating and living in the moment. Was there any inspiration for it or anything you’d like to add to the meaning of the song?
Dawson: Last year I was dealing with a lot of anxiety. Traveling and touring a lot — that was new for me, dealing with anxiety on a day-to-day basis. So the song came through a lot of conversations we were all having about that. What we landed on was trying to be as present as possible and not overly forecasting or projecting yourself to, “oh, this, this, this,” because then it compiles into a crazy thing. Gosh, I hate to punchline it but just you stop and enjoy where you’re at — being here at Outside Lands with you, having a great interview — that’s been really helpful for me. The song was born out of those conversations.
When you’re creating new music, do you start with the lyrics, the sound, or a mix?
Cole: Most of the time, it’s with the tracks, but sometimes we’ll have a title or a concept for a song and build around that. More often than not, it’s a track, a beat, or a riff to start with.
You’ve played 100 shows in the last year, which is awesome. Can you tell me a bit about your global audience?
Luke: We’ve toured pretty globally now, which is cool. It’s interesting to go to different cultures and see how different fans are. If we go to Asia, South America, or even Spain, they’re different — but it’s cool to see people from different cultures and languages still connecting with the same music.
Any specific differences between audiences?
Luke: In Asia, they’ll do something kind of funny — out of respect. When you’re done playing a song, they’ll be really quiet in between.
Dawson: In Japan, yeah.
Luke: Because they don’t want to talk over who’s on stage. It’s not that they’re not enjoying it, they’re just listening. Versus Spain — everyone is very passionate, so they’ll be a lot louder and more expressive. You just have to know what you’re in for.
I feel like here too, they always try to get the attention of the artist.
Luke: Right, and that would never happen in some places in Asia.
Your music has also had success in placements like “sunburn”’ in Love Island and “only wanna dance” on Hulu. How do you feel about those? Is that something you seek out?
Dawson: That whole behind-the-curtain thing is very random. It’s not even something you necessarily seek out. Those people just hear your song. Maybe your label pitches it, but it’s random. Somebody will text us, “your song’s in Love Island,” and we’re like, okay, cool. We don’t even know.
Luke: Yeah, I never know. We got to the tour for this last run for the festivals in Europe, and when I landed, people were like, “oh, your song’s in Love Island?” I’m like, sick, that’s cool.
Dawson: This season felt huge. Love Island has always been big, but it was massive this year.
Cole: None of us really watch it. Do you watch it?
Dawson: I tried watching it. It’s not for me.
Luke: I watched one full season, the UK one and I enjoyed it, but how I am, I have to finish it. It’s so long. It is a big commitment.
They’re always introducing new people.
Luke: Right, and it’s kind of mindless after a while. I binge it, then I’m like, what am I doing?
Dawson: And the edit is so devious.
Cole: It’s all in the edit.
Dawson: New lovers come to the island, couples get into the new person, and you’re like, what? It’s discombobulating me. Is that a word?
Luke: Yeah, great word. But I get it. I just have to be careful because I get too deep into it and can’t stop.
Is there anywhere you want to see an almost monday song featured?
Dawson: I would love if Surf’s Up came back, it’s a really great film. I know they did a sequel but I don’t think it was that great… If they did a proper big-budget Surfs Up again … I would love to be a part of that. The first one has such a goated soundtrack with so many bangers.
Now switching gears to Dive and the deluxe album — so much great energy. “sequoia” is one of my favorites. Are there any you’ve played live from that album that have gotten surprising reactions?
Dawson: I actually think “sequoia”.’ That one goes well live.
Luke: “she likes sports” gets people really going too — I love that song. It’s one of our best live songs.
Dawson: And “you look so good”, we kind of knew, because we were playing it before the album.
I’ve seen y’all live and have seen your (Dawson’s) stage presence — I’d describe it as a little sassy, but “never know your next move”. Is there any inspiration for your performance style?
Dawson: I’m influenced by a lot of people, but, gun to the head, some of my favorites are Matt Schultz from Cage the Elephant and Nick from Pond. Everybody’s inspired by Mick Jagger. For me, I got advice when we started the band from Jon of Switchfoot (a San Diego-based band), who is still my/our hero. We were opening for them in high school — the biggest show we’d ever played. I was nervous, and he could tell. He told me, “You’re just a mirror for the crowd. If you feel uncomfortable, awkward, or not confident, people feel that and reflect it back.” So I was like, okay, I’m going to try to be as devious as I can, as if I was just having fun with my friends and being my weird self. I thought that was great advice, and it has always stuck with me.
I just saw Cage the Elephant recently where he climbed on top of the front of house.
Dawson: I know, he’s so sick. At Lollapalooza he ran to Olivia Rodrigo’s stage — campers were like, “who is this guy?” He’s so good. Very inspiring.
For a final question — what would you say to make the college students at Berkeley listen to almost monday or be on the lookout for what’s next?
Dawson: I think our music — Dive and stuff — we try to make it feel good. If you need a pick-me-up on a drive or hanging with friends, that’s a good situation for almost monday.
Luke: My mom went to Berkeley, so secondary alum.
Cole: Mine too.
Dawson: Really?
Cole: Yeah.
Dawson: What the hell? I didn’t know that.
Kids of the mother-alum!
Dawson: Damn! That’s cool… my mom didn’t.
Review and photography by Izzy Hory
