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person making a heart with their hands at a concert
person making a heart with their hands at a concert
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Pace | Culture > Entertainment

Daniel Seavey’s Show Is Unlike Anything You’ve Ever Seen

Morgan Stanislaus Student Contributor, Pace University
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Pace chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

It’s a strange thing seeing people evolve and grow into different individuals than they were when you first found them. When I found Daniel Seavey in 2016, he was about 17 years old, in a boyband called Why Don’t We, going live on YouNow, and filming with Logan Paul of all people. Now, he’s a solo artist, creatively expressive, unapologetic, and headlining his own national tour. While others have completely mourned the loss of Why Don’t We, Seavey has made his mark as a musician standing on his own. Seeing Seavey live for his second album and solo tour, titled Second Wind, was the moment I realized that Seavey had really found his sound on his own, rather than collaborating with four other guys. To say that Seavey is a talented live performer is beyond an understatement. 

Before talking about Seavey’s impeccable live shows, more specifically the New York show on April 13, it’s important to talk about the openers he picked to bring up the energy of the crowd. Firstly, a small artist, Kyle Kelly, hooked the crowd with his emo-pop annunciation of his lyrics and fun personality. He was very talkative and communicative with the crowd, creating a connection that made his short yet entertaining set really enjoyable. The second opener was 19-year-old singer/songwriter Sombr, who has amassed over 1.1 million followers on TikTok alone. While he had a massive fanbase at the shows, I didn’t really know who he was— that is until he started singing. Slowly, throughout his set, I would hear a song or two that I recognized, which made it nice to put a face to a sound. He had a very dangerous yet friendly aura with his powerful vocals and all-leather outfit. He looked like a mix of Finn Wolfhard and Jeff Buckley. Even with the comparison, he has a completely individual sound that I think is really elevated by his youth. 

For the main attraction, Seavey graced the stage at around 9 p.m. with full energy and excitement. You could see people from his record label and members of his family on the balcony of Irving Plaza cheering him on. He began with his song “Waves,” which couldn’t have been a better choice in hyping up the crowd and giving a preview of what the rest of the show would look like. People were immediately jumping around, singing, dancing, and genuinely enjoying themselves by the end of the first verse. Some other favorites he performed in the show were “Gateway Drug,” “Blondes,” the slow, acoustic “I Tried,” and my personal favorite from Second Wind, “Lose Me Like You Mean It.” Seavey’s setlist was crafted so perfectly in placing high energy songs consecutively, with the addition of a slower song or two in between to bring the crowd back down. While this is a simple and great method for keeping your audience engaged and entertained, Seavey also does something no one else does at their shows— be his own band. 

Coming from performing with four other people to becoming a solo artist, you’d probably think it could be difficult to adjust to such independence. Not for Seavey, as he plays cello, piano, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, drums, and a loop pedal at his shows. While he does have a drummer to help with songs as he sings and plays guitar or piano, he takes on the work of an entire band by himself. It truly is a gift to see— his pure talent, artistry, and passion for performing and music in general. Everyone in the audience was completely in awe of this unique aspect of the show, especially as he challenged his talent of perfect pitch. Seavey requests someone in the crowd to shout out any song in the world, no matter if he knows it or not, that he’ll perform using his loop pedal and all of his instruments. New York’s Irving Plaza show happened to call for “Iris” by the Goo Goo Dolls, a completely different vibe from his usual music, but he did it flawlessly. It sounded so similar to the real song, yet you could hear his own flair and personal twist on the music. Seeing him create a full song in front of our eyes was just one of the best parts of the show; it felt like a behind-the-scenes look at the creative process of a true musician. 

Finally, Seavey was climbing on the walls and balcony, running backstage, and surprising the crowd by being in a different part of the venue. He also came into the crowd several times, hugging and talking to people, and even dedicating a specific part of his song, “The Older You Get,” to a fan by singing it with them intimately. My final favorite part of the show was Seavey honoring and remembering his past as a member of Why Don’t We, who I supported throughout the entirety of their career. It was so nice hearing Seavey perform the song “Fallin’ (Adrenaline)” in his own way, and seeing the crowd react to it; it was truly beautiful. Regardless of whether you were here because you wanted to see Seavey because he was in Why Don’t We, or if you’re just a fan of his solo career, or you’ve seen viral clips of him on TikTok, everyone left with a lot more than they bargained for. Seavey is the truest definition of an artist who is passionate and talented in his craft, which makes for a truly inventive and unique show that I’d recommend to anyone.

Morgan Stanislaus

Pace '27

Morgan Stanislaus is a future Journalist and Communications and Media Studies major and Journalism & Digital Storytelling and Marketing double minor at Pace University. For the Pace Her Campus chapter, she is the Social Media Director, managing all social media platforms and social team assistants. She also is a third year staff writer, where she specifically enjoys writing about the entertainment industry, including music, media, and film.

Outside of Her Campus, Morgan spends a lot of her time creating content on her personal social media platforms, including managing the Tik Tok for a nonprofit, volunteering with adults with autism and working her Digital Marketing Internship. She has also written for an online Journalism Website called ATWX media on topics within the music industry. She has interviewed bands such as "87 Nights" and artists such as Renee Rapp. Finally, she is also the Social Media Director of the Industry Network club at Pace University, marketing the club not only digitally but through print advertisements and graphic design as well.

Independently, Morgan loves to listen to music, go to concerts, watch and review movies, and hangout with her friends and family. She extremely passionate about the world of pop culture and considers herself a major "fangirl." Other than this, she also loves fashion and expressing herself with her clothes, specifically through thrifting and vintage clothes.