almost monday at The Observatory North Park: A Hometown Show

Overview

almost monday are coming home.

The band formed in 2015 out of three high school friends from North County San Diego, and on Thursday, October 22 they headline The Observatory in North Park on the tour for their second album, Thank God It's Almost Monday.

The distance they have covered since is worth naming. In February 2025 their single "Can't Slow Down" reached number one on Billboard's Alternative Airplay chart, and in 2026 they picked up an iHeartRadio Music Award nomination for Best New Alternative Artist. That is a long way from a North County garage — but the Observatory is a mid-size room, which means this is still close enough to see their faces.

What You Actually Need to Know

• Who: almost monday — THANK GOD IT'S ALMOST MONDAY tour
• Date: Thursday, October 22, 2026
• Doors: 7:00 PM
• Show: 8:00 PM
• Where: The Observatory North Park — 2891 University Avenue, San Diego, CA 92104
• Price: From $33
• Tickets: Get tickets on Ticketmaster
• Food and drink: Available next door at West Coast Tavern, the venue's connected restaurant

Times are subject to change — the venue notes this on the listing.

Who They Are

Dawson Daugherty sings and plays rhythm guitar. Luke Fabry is on bass and keys. Cole Clisby plays lead. Daugherty and Fabry grew up together in North County; Daugherty met Clisby through surfing, which is about as San Diego an origin story as a band can have. Rafa Vidal tours with them on drums.

The sound is indie pop with the sunshine left in — the kind of thing that works as well on a drive up the 101 as it does in a dark room in North Park.

Where to start if you don't know them:

• "Can't Slow Down" — the Billboard number one, and the obvious entry point
• "Broken People" (2019) — the early one that got them noticed
• "Live Forever" (2021)
• "Enjoy the Ride" (2025)

Their debut album Dive landed in 2024; Thank God It's Almost Monday followed in 2026 and gives this tour its name.

The Venue

The Observatory North Park is a restored 1929 theater on University Avenue, and it is one of the better mid-size rooms in the county — big enough to feel like an event, small enough that the back of the floor is still a good spot.

It also sits in the middle of North Park, which means the show is genuinely a night out rather than just a concert. University Avenue and 30th Street have as dense a run of bars, restaurants and breweries as anywhere in San Diego, most of it within a few blocks of the door. West Coast Tavern is attached to the theater itself if you want to keep it simple.

Good to Know

• Doors and show are an hour apart. Doors at 7, music at 8 — worth knowing if you would rather eat first than stand around
• Parking in North Park is street parking, and on a Thursday evening it is competitive. Give yourself time, or take a rideshare
• Check the age policy on your ticket before you buy if you are bringing anyone under 21
• Buy ahead. A hometown show for a band with a number one single is the kind of date that sells out, and the Observatory is not a large room

Make a Night of It

North Park is one of the easiest neighborhoods in San Diego to build an evening around, and the venue is in the middle of it. If you are coming from elsewhere in the county, our North Park neighborhood guide covers where to eat and drink within walking distance.

Nearby, University Heights is a short walk north and Hillcrest is a few minutes west if you want more options after the show.

For everything else happening around the county, browse our full event calendar.