Gig Review: Dayglow

Having not been to a proper gig since before Covid, I was beyond excited to see that Dayglow had announced a tour and a few tickets were left for sale. Just barely managing to snatch up 2 of them before they completely sold out, I donned my dayglow merch and headed for the Academy in Manchester.

After discovering Dayglow’s sparkly indie-pop sound on his Fuzzybrain album during my first year at Durham, his chilled-out songs quickly became the soundtrack of my last-minute study crams and essay blasts. (Who can possibly stress to the sound of Can I Call You Tonight?!) Needless to say, I was patiently waiting for the gig to come to keep me going through summative season.

I knew that Dayglow was going to put on a good show, but boy oh boy was I not prepared for quite how spectacular the gig was going to be.

Far Caspian provided a stellar supporting show before the main event, and set the perfect scene before Dayglow’s entrance onto the stage. The anticipation in the air was almost tangible, and the crowd audibly held their breath as the lights faded. When Dayglow bounced onto the stage, his energetic presence immediately filled the room with pure, unadulterated good vibes.

The pink and orange spotlights flashed through the crowd and I could feel the floor moving beneath my feet as the crowd jumped around to Something and False Direction; while arms swayed in unison to the sweet sounds of Fuzzybrain and Woah Man.

I genuinely thought the floor was going to cave in – the crowd was wild!

Now, I have been to a fair few gigs in my time, but I can say hand-on-heart that no one has been as genuinely appreciative and humbled by a sold-out crowd! Between songs, Dayglow would chat with us crowd, making jokes about his journeys across the pond from Austin, Texas.

His orange checkered shirt also deserves a mention – his style was, as expected, effortlessly cool and only left me wishing I could ever be that cool too!

At one point, when I thought the set was winding down, the intro to one of my favourites, False Direction kicked in and the entire room turned in to a huge mosh pit. The crowd was one of the best I have ever experienced at a gig, singing every single word at the top of their lungs and moving along to the beat.

I could not have hoped for a better gig and I am very excited to hear the new songs he previewed during his set when they are released. Keep your eyes peeled for Dayglow; he is definitely one to watch out for.

Maia Cuschera