Stephen Dawes Talks Touring, His Latest Project Up At Night and More

On Monday, Oct. 7, singer-songwriter Stephen Dawes joined Griff as the opening act of her Vertigo tour at the Wiltern in Los Angeles, California.

Stephen has been Griff's opening act throughout the U.S. leg of the tour, putting on killer performances night in and night out. We had the opportunity to chat with Stephen before his L.A. performance and ask him about touring, writing his latest project, Up At Night and more. Read the full interview below.

Sweety High: You've toured now with Peter McPoland, done a few headline shows on your own and now with Griff. What have you taken away from each of these tours? 

Stephen Dawes: For Peter, the set was a bit more rock. With the whole tour, I really wanted to make it feel very intense, so that was the mindset I went into with my headline shows, which were this fall. And now, having done Griff, I think I've realized I may have gone a little far toward that side of the spectrum and at this point, I've got a lot to think about. The way she does a lot of the synth stuff and goes and does keyboard stuff on her own is something I've been wanting to do, but now, actually having seen it done in her show, I think it's super cool. I feel like it helps get that point across that this is really you behind the music, especially since she produces. It's nice 'cause they're both amazing shows on different sides of the pop and rock spectrum, and ideally, I want to be in the middle of that, and this tour has solidified that idea.

(Photo credit: Maddy Myer)

 

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SH: What inspired you to write your newest project, Up At Night? 

SD: For the last project, I used a central theme lyrically. For this one, it wasn't as much of that as, honestly, coming off the Peter tour and having played the last project live for almost two months, I kinda went into making this project with building a live show rather than building a story lyrically.

 

SH: What's something you hope people take away from listening to your music, especially your live music? 

SD: I really feel you're there to perform for people. If they're not taking away a great night, then in a way, it's indulgent. As much as I want them to take away all the other emotions, I mean there's some sad songs in the set, I just really want people to have a good time and for it to be a fun night out. I want them to be happy to be here rather than listening to music anywhere.

I feel like one of my favorite things is giggles when something funny happens, and it feels like everyone starts to warm up to being in a big room with 1,500 people, so that makes me happiest.

 

SH: Do you have any pre-show rituals? 

SD: Nothing too crazy, but I have a vocal warmup recorded from my vocal teacher I do before every show. And I also like to make throat coat tea for every show.

 

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SH: What's a city you've yet to tour in that you'd like to go to? Or a dream venue? 

SD: Looking forward, I'd honestly love to go to Europe. Playing in London or Paris sounds pretty crazy. You get a taste of it in Montreal because they speak French, and so it feels a little like you're abroad. A whole tour of that sounds like it'd be really fun.

 

SH: Any upcoming music you can tease? 

SD: I'm in this position where I want to go make more music. I have 10 in the vault that I feel pretty good about, but I'm excited to get back and work on something that's completely fresh.

 

SH: Who are some of your current artist inspirations? And any dream collaborations? 

SD: I've been diving back into a lot of James Blake; he's been a lifelong inspiration. I really like Charli XCX right now as well. And Griff, having heard her across the whole country now, I've become a bigger fan.

 

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SH: What are some goals for the next year? 

SD: Non-music-related; I think I'm trying to read two books a month for the year; that's been my main goal. On the music side, I want to get to a point where I can feel comfortable about doing my own tour sometime soon. The headline shows were very fun, so I'm excited to do that across the whole country.

 

SH: Any message to your fans? 

SD: As much as I love sharing music online, this last month has made me realize that doing it in person is a whole lot better. I'm feeling grateful this month.

(Photo credit: Maddy Myer)

 

We will be on the lookout to see Stephen perform his own solo tour in the future. He is an incredibly talented artist, and we can't wait to see him soar to new heights in the coming year. To connect with Stephen, you can follow his TikTok, YouTube and Instagram.

 

For even more coverage of our favorite tours of the year, click HERE to read our review of Stephen Sanchez at the YouTube Theater in L.A.