MR. GLOW FOR PRESIDENT
BY LYDIA CHO
On October 4th, Texas-native Sloan Struble brought his indie pop group, Dayglow, to Washington DC. Sloan released the self-titled album, “Dayglow” less than a month ago. This album follows the recent releases of “Harmony House” in 2021 and “People in Motion” in 2022.
He comments that this newest album helped him understand who he is, who he’s becoming, and who he’s been all along:
PHOTO BY EMMALEE SULLIVAN
Sun Room, a California boy band, started off the concert at 8:00 by hyping up the crowd. Their garage rock energy got the pit dancing, jamming, and singing along; in fact, many fans even came just to watch Sun Room perform. They absolutely killed their 45-minute set, playing hit songs “Sol Del Sur,” “Sunset Garage,” and “CADILLAC.” Singer Luke Asgian made the crowd fall in love with his California accent, raspy voice, and killer guitar skills. Meanwhile, the instrumentals (Ashton Minnich on guitar, Max Pinamonti on bass, and Thomas Rhodes on drums) gave the music life and power.
PHOTOS BY EMMALEE SULLIVAN
Dayglow came on stage at 9:00 after Sun Room’s electric set. Sloan entered stage and immediately started playing his 2019 hit “Junior Varsity,” which was one of his first hits. He sported a “Mr. Glow For President” tee (paired with a jacket and blue jeans), continuing his tour tradition of themed shirts for cities. In Columbus, it was “Glowumbus,” and in Raleigh, it was “What People Raleigh Do.” The stage decorations were kept simple and on-theme. The tour’s iconic star hung behind the performers, along with some alphabet blocks spelling out “Dayglow.”
After “Junior Varsity” was met with roaring enthusiasm, Sloan moved on to sing “Broken Bone” and “Silver Lining” from the new album. It is totally apparent from these performances that this album is “finally Dayglow:” he sang these two technical masterpieces with total confidence and finesse. Dayglow then played “Hot Rod,” one of my personal favorites. With incredible instrumentals and a catchy tune, it’s no surprise that this is Dayglow’s second most-streamed song on Spotify, with over 274 million streams. This got the crowd singing and energized for the next couple songs. Dayglow performed “Then It All Goes Away” before transitioning to “Cocoon” from the new album, then “Every Little Thing I Say I Do.” That last song I’d never heard before, but I ended up loving it. It features his classic alternative-rock style, reinforced by a catchy melody and incredible instrumentals.
PHOTO BY EMMALEE SULLIVAN
After this, Dayglow alternated albums. Throughout the show, he played his entire new album, but also an even mix of songs from Fuzzybrain (2019), Harmony House, and People In Motion. The variety of these four different albums really made the experience fulfilling, as the audience could get a taste of each of these unique flavors of music.
PHOTO BY EMMALEE SULLIVAN
Between “Like She Does” and “Fuzzybrain,” Sloan stopped the music to talk to the audience. He introduced his 2019 album Fuzzybrain, which he wrote when he was 17, and talked about the journey he’s been on between Fuzzybrain and Dayglow. He tells the audience to prepare accordingly (because “Fuzzybrain” is the only slow song in Dayglow’s set) before launching into my favorite song. The beautiful, mellow, instrumentals were incredible. Bassist Hunter Thompson, drummer Brady Knippa, and guitarist Colin Crawford blended together gorgeously with Sloan’s voice, creating a dream-like atmosphere in The Anthem. The other highlight for me was “Nothing Ever Does!!!” off of the new album, which created the closest thing to a moshpit at a Dayglow concert, and highlighted the rocker capabilities of the band.
Dayglow ended the show with their viral song “Can I call You Tonight?” which has over 629 million streams on Spotify. This was the song that blew up 17-year-old Sloan, and partially drove Dayglow’s immense success. After the band members left the stage, they returned for a four-song encore. Overall, the performance was incredible, and I’m excited to see how the rest of the world reacts to Dayglow’s newest album, which shows how polished, cohesive, and unique they really are.
PHOTO BY EMMALEE SULLIVAN
