San Diego’s Almost Monday Takes SOMA Stage on Heels of First Billboard Chart-Topper

by Tessa Balc • Times of San Diego

Almost Monday (Photo courtesy of Sam Kristofski)

Almost Monday, a San Diego indie-pop trio, is stopping by home base to take over SOMA’s Sidestage Tuesday night as part of their DIVE tour.

Made up of San Diego natives — Dawson Daugherty, Cole Clisby and Luke Fabry — the band achieved its first single to hit number one on Billboard’s alternative airplay chart on Feb. 1.

The chart-topping single, “Can’t Slow Down,” is off the band’s debut album DIVE, which was released Sept. 2024. The record features production credits from Simon Oscroft, who has produced songs for The Aces, Declan McKenna and OneRepublic.

Even though the band only has one complete LP in its discography, they have been making moves in the music world for the last couple of years, releasing two EPs in 2020 and 2021, opening for AJR, playing renowned music festivals on the United States circuit and touring abroad.

In their time on the road, Fabry said they have found unexpected fans. Noting a couple that attended one of their shows to celebrate turning 64-years-old, had given each other the nicknames ‘lemon’ and ‘lime’, as a nod to the band’s song “Cough Drops.”

Despite having played larger stages worldwide this past year, Clisby said the familiarity of a hometown show can be both exciting and unnerving.

“It’s a lot different than when you’re out in the middle of somewhere else, and you know nobody in the crowd,” Clisby said. “It’s different when you see your parents out there. It’s a lot more pressure for some reason.”

The band kicked off the tour in Asia, singing to crowds they could not converse with regularly. While Daugherty said the energy of hometown shows is exciting — especially when he catches a glimpse of his brothers moshing in the crowd — connecting with fans across the globe is unbeatable.

“In Korea and Japan, you feel like you’re in another world,” he said. “So when you hear them singing your songs, it’s pretty wild. Some of the coolest moments of my life are people knowing the music.”

While their performance at SOMA will mark the third to last night of the tour’s U.S. leg, the show isn’t over yet as the boys are gearing up for the European leg of their tour, set to start March 1.

Doors will open at 7 p.m. and almost monday will take SOMA’s Sidestage at 8 p.m., tickets are available here.