Daniel Seavey made SF's Cafe du Nord the second to last stop of his tour accompanied by incredibly talented musician and friend Alex Warren.

Daniel Seavey is known for being a member of the boy band Why Don't We. He started his career in the public eye as a young 15 year old contestant from Vancouver on season 14 of American Idol. He has grown significantly since then.

At the beginning of 2022 everyone saw the words “tour canceled” and “hiatus” surrounding the beloved boy band Why Don’t We. Ahead of their Good Times Only tour, the band was forced into a hiatus as a result of a legal battle between current manager Randy Phillips and former co manager and business partner, David Loeffler.

The band, made up of 4 other members, has been open about enduring plenty of abuse in their time with David Loeffler under distribution company Signature Entertainment. They reported to have been on the receiving end of daily verbal abuse and the group of performers have even said that food was withheld from them resulting in malnourishment and eating disorders.

The group wished to separate but instead of being released and compensated for their troubles (and trauma), they were met with a lawsuit from Loeffler for “anticipatory breach of contract”.

During this hiatus the band members are not only unable to make music and perform as Why Don’t We but are also being barred from receiving any monetary compensation for their already released work. The five members of the band also refused to sign a recording deal that would further put their careers in the hands of their abuser, meaning that they are also unable to pursue solo projects.

So how was Daniel able to set out on his first solo tour? By unfortunately filing for bankruptcy.

But alas we are not only our profession. In his personal life Daniel was experiencing an immense amount of turmoil as his best friend lost his life as a result of a drunk driver, his parents divorced, and his mother was diagnosed with cancer and underwent chemo.

To deal with all of this, Daniel did what he does best and naturally turned to making music.

He recorded every piece of every song and produced it all himself. The artwork for his newest single “I Tried” was shot by his brother Tyler from their rooftop in their backyard and then edited onto a beach background. He didn't just try, he succeeded. Because within minutes, his first solo tour of 17 stops sold out.

As soon as Sofi and I stepped out of the elevator (shout out to Cafe du Nord for having a working elevator and being one of the most wheelchair accessible venues we know) we were met with a sold out crowd of excited fans.

The crew quickly set up for the opening act and after a few minutes the lights dimmed to welcome Alex Warren.

His set consisted of tracks like Chasing Shadows, Headlights, and even songs about loss and grief like One More I Love You and Remember Me Happy. The latter were prefaced lightly by Alex as “aaaand this song is about my dead dad” a morbid introduction that was followed by a few nervous chuckles from the singer himself, yet met with a “MY DAD IS DEAD TOO!” from the crowd. A nice comedic relief from a fan that seemingly understood that comedy is often how we deal with our feelings. I wonder if my sister and I can be in a “dead dad’s club” together with them.

Alex brought up his fiance Kouvr on stage, who was met with cheers and even a fan made a sign that read “thank you for finally proposing to Kouvr”. I love that the days of hating musicians significant others are far and few in between. We need more support like this.

After a short intermission of crew changing out gear and chatting with fans (crew members have fans too. As they should!), the lights dimmed.

Nothing could have prepared me for the amount of energy this man had. I had just seen him pacing back and forth in the kitchen mentally preparing himself a few moments ago. But Daniel ran on stage and Wielding an electric guitar, he kicked off his set with a guitar solo accompanied by the excited screams of loyal fans, some of which got hit by literal cars to get to the show (more on that later).

Daniel Seavey’s Spotify has a total of 3 songs as of now, he jokingly broke down in tears of gratitude at the realization that the crowd in its entirety knew all of the lyrics to his songs.

“Does anyone know what a loop pedal is?” Daniel asked the crowd

The first thing I thought of was- Doesn't Ed Sheeran use one to play his guitar on loop at live shows?

He continued, “When i was younger i came across a YouTube video of Ed Sheeran-”

I knew it!

“..and he had a loop pedal to loop his guitar riffs like ‘when i was six years old’ and anyway i fell in love with it! I thought to myself, I play the guitar, I play the keys, I play the cello-”

He can WHAT???

“I could totally use a loop pedal. Do you guys mind if I demonstrate how it works?”

Of course nobody protested.

And I was absolutely floored.

He went on to show how a loop pedal worked in real time, bounding from one instrument to another, leading the crowd through each step as he performed them. “Okay so soundboard, let's get a beat going. Now I'm going to put that on a loop. And now the guitar, and now the keys.” and so on and so forth.

Daniel Seavey seamlessly switched from instrument to instrument while jumping and interacting with the crowd. Playing an array of his favorite songs like Steve Lacey’s Bad Habit, Daddy Issues by The Neighbourhood, and even his solo rendition of 8 Letters by Why Don't We.

Around this time someone in the crowd fainted, the fans immediately called for security and screamed to stop the show. They then passed water bottles back and made way for the person to walk to the nurse in the front.

This crowd was made up of the most caring individuals that cared more about each others safety than their own experience.

At this point Daniel chose to slow down and take a seat to talk about his late best friend Corey La Barrie.

Many know that Corey was tragically killed in a car crash on his 25th birthday in May of 2020. “I had always heard that writing music was therapeutic but I didn't feel it to its full effect until we lost Corey."

The singer bared his whole heart with the lyrics “ I wish I had said goodbye when I said goodnight” calling back to the last time he got to see his friend.

The show ended but not before Daniel was called back on stage for an encore.

Once the show concluded, both artists met with as many fans as they could outside their tour bus. To say that this show was an absolute roller coaster is an understatement. The tears, the singing, the pedestrians getting hit by motor vehicles- which by the way, we witnessed an occurrence after the show, stay safe out there friends!

 Knowing that Daniel and Alex are accompanied by their significant others, their family, and their closest friends while on the road, eases any worries fans may have had following Why Don't We's abuse claims regarding former management. Getting to see both of these young artists deal with loss and grief through their music and be vulnerable with the fans that surround them every night, simultaneously broke my heart and restored my faith in human connection.

Check out Daniel and Alex’s work by following them on Spotify and on Instagram at @danielseavey and @alexwarrenmusic!

All photos in this article were taken by @favoritemoments.photography on instagram.