Melissa Wood | February 28, 2025
On February 8, San Diego based indie pop band almost monday performed at the Foundry in Philadelphia as a part of their Dive Tour that celebrates their debut studio album! (See press release kit for more info)
Opener: Adrian Lyles
The opener of the night was singer-songwriter Adrian Lyles. Prior to this concert, I had never really heard of his name before, but apparently, he’s been in Disney Channel’s High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. In my opinion, I thought his performance was pretty good. I think my favorite song of his was “King of Everything,” which highlights themes of insecurity and feeling like you’ll never live up to external/internal expectations and really speak to a common feeling never feeling like enough, and how that can make us feel like we’re moving too slow, or we’re stuck in life. Honestly, with a song writing like that, I personally don’t think Lyles has anything to worry about. I’m really excited to see what he does in the future, as he continues to refine his sound and footing in the music industry!
Headliner: almost monday
The start off the show, almost monday took to the stage with “Dive,” the first track off of Dive, followed by “Is It Too Late,” and “Can’t Slow Down,” their current leading single. I always love seeing different artists setlists and the order they put songs in. In my personal opinion, I thought these three songs were a great start for the night and succeeded in breaking in the crowd for the rest of the set. For those who are unaware, almost monday embodies a sound that transports you right to the sandy beaches of California- everything about their melodies screams summertime. Even in the dead of winter, from the moment they started playing, all I wanted was the warm sun on my face and a pina colada in my hand to compliment them.
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Other notable songs in this performance were “Cough Drops,” “Tidal Wave,” a mash-up featuring “Broken People” and “Parking Lot View,” and “she likes sports,” which is a personal favorite of mine. I like to describe this song is the hip sun-kissed younger sister of Cake’s “The Distance.” One aspect of the performance that I particularly liked was the seamless transitions between most songs. It genuinely felt like they all meshed into one another perfectly and created a unique progression that one cannot properly experience other than hearing it live.
In all, I would say this concert was definitely worth the time. I will be honest, it did seem like the energy at this concert was a little low, but I think that is to be expected. It was revealed that earlier that day, the lead singer, Dawson Daugherty, was feeling sick. Fortunately, he was still able to roll up his metaphorical sleeves and deliver a full concert by his band mates’ side. Other than that, I have no real qualms over the quality of this performance. Given that almost monday is only on their debut album and is already dishing out bangers like “Can’t Slow Down,” and “jupiter,” I can confidently conclude that their future is nothing short of sunny!
