As the lights dimmed and the audience buzzed, ACL Live @ The Moody Theater was filled with the sounds of San Diego indie pop powerhouse, almost monday. The technicolor lights accentuated the stage while Dawson, Luke, and Cole bounded on, kicking off one of the best opening acts I have seen in a long while. almost monday has been taking the indie pop world by storm these last few years, and the audience participation makes this fact known. I’ve never seen a crowd so energized by an opening act: the front few rows of fans knowing every word to every song, the captivated looks on first time listeners’ faces, and the numerous people pulling out their phones to save almost monday to their Spotify playlists right then and there.
almost monday, namely frontman Dawson Daugherty, puts on a performance that is impossible to ignore. His stage presence is infectious – singing directly to fans in the crowd, doing silly dances during instrumental breaks in the songs, he even took a lucky fan’s phone and recorded a video on it from the stage. With catchy hits such as “can’t slow down” and “enjoy the ride,” the band’s music feels reminiscent of the peak of indie pop while still being innovative and true to their own sound. With sounds similar to Foster the People and Portugal the Man, stage presence similar to Mick Jagger, and a freshness that only comes from playing funk music in 2025, almost monday is an easy-listening crowd pleaser.
By the end of the band’s 14 song set, I forgot I wasn’t actually at an almost monday headlining show. They perfectly amped up the crowd to enjoy The Band CAMINO’s headlining set and made such an impression on the audience that the crowd walked away remembering their name, energy, and having one of their songs stuck in their head on the way home.
Catch almost monday opening for The Band CAMINO on the NeverAlways tour through the end of November.
