Del Water Gap's "I Miss You + I Haven't Left Yet" Tour at the HiFi in Dallas

 October 7th, 2023

This was my 5th time seeing Del Water Gap live in the past two years. I did not realize until I saw his post this past week that his first-ever tour was the Jeremy Zucker tour of 2021, and his post about starting that tour made me feel a little more special for being present when I was. I admittedly did only buy a ticket to that show because I wanted to see Holden open (although I wound up really liking Jeremy Zucker as well), and I had one of the greatest after-the-show experiences of my lifetime talking to Holden at the merch booth later in the night. He had just put out his debut album, which I had (unintentionally) stumbled upon on the release day, and I was quick to fall in love with his songwriting and so excited to find he was coming to Texas so soon after. I bought tickets within a few days of the album being out because I knew I was going to love him from the first listen-through of the album, and I am so glad I did.

As you probably know, DWG has become one of my all-time favorite artists very quickly over the course of the past two years, and he is incredible to see live every time. I have had the chance to see him several times here in Dallas because of his consistent touring since that first show in 2021, and I saw him at the Hinterland Music Festival in Saint Charles, Iowa this past August as well. I have seen him play two opening sets, two headlining sets, and as of this weekend (weekend 2 of ACL), I will have seen him play two festival sets. I have met so many of my favorite people in Del Water Gap crowds, I have had so much fun through all of his sets, and I cannot wait to see him again so soon after the release of his sophomore album and my first show of this tour!!

This tour is already something so special. It has just begun, but the production of the show itself has outdone anything I have seen him do before. I loved it. I was extremely happy to go to this show with my youngest sister, which was a special thing because she only likes to go to concerts when the artist is one of her absolute favorites, and I cannot even begin to express to you how excited I am to know that Del Water Gap has reached that level for her. I have spent the past two years spreading his music to everyone I know and I am so so so excited to see he is getting more of the recognition he deserves with the release of his newer music.

DWG is one of the few artists I listen to that could play genuinely anything he has written and I would be happy to hear it. I'm serious, any combination of his songs and nothing would disappoint me in any way. I think he is a genius for the way he pours his emotions into his music. His writing is so genuine and vulnerable in a way that I think many artists fall short of being, and the style of his music ties it all together for me every single time. I Miss You Already + I Haven't Left Yet has immediately become one of my top-ranked albums of this year, and I am so impressed with DWG's ability to seamlessly write such a beautiful album once again with less than two years between his first and second album releases.

As a writer myself, I have never found so much inspiration in someone else's storytelling and perspective, and I think that is why DWG so quickly became one of my favorites. He has been one of the most genuine artists I have had the chance to meet as well. His story of becoming an artist is inspiring in itself, but the way he portrays the nitty-grittiness of his experience through the music amazes me every time I sit back to really think about it. (And I could go on and on and on about how incredible I think he is as a writer and an artist, but the point of these posts is typically to talk about the show itself, so I will get back to that now lol).

The opener for this show was Kristiane, whose name I had been mispronouncing for about 2 weeks until she said it herself for us at the show lol. Elli and I both loved her. She had the cutest vibe to her, she was dressed adorably, and her music was all incredible. I think my favorite of her songs was the one she hasn't released yet, so I have followed her to be up-to-date on that release when it happens! I have been in the mood for new music lately, so she has been quickly added to my current mix. I loved her!

The first time I saw Holden live was when he opened for Jeremy Zucker at this venue on November 3rd, 2021. It was a surreal experience for me to see him playing in the same venue with a crowd of the same size a few short years later. I love seeing artists I love grow and get the kind of recognition they deserve, and it was amazing to get to meet so many other people who love him and his music the way I do. I think there is nothing better than sharing a passion for live music with the people around you in the crowd, and I was lucky enough to make plenty of friends in this crowd while still seeing the familiar faces of some older friends from past shows as well. I thought the setlist was perfect, but again, he could have played genuinely anything and I would've had the time of my life. I loved the set for this show, I loved that it correlated with the lyrics in the songs on his new album, and I loved that the horse with a bowlcut neon sign still got to have its moments for nostalgia purposes as well. Every bit of this was perfect to me and I was so happy to be there, I have thought about it continuously all week and I can't wait for him to be the highlight of my upcoming weekend as well!

I'm so proud of how far he has come as an artist and a person in the past few years, and it's been incredible to be able to say I've been here from the start of the reboot of his music career. Del Water Gap will be my favorite forever. If you haven't gotten tickets to his tour yet, he just started! There are still so many opportunities to see him before the year ends (unless you're with me in Texas, then ACL is your last chance for this run lol). He outdoes himself for me every single time, and the new album is 110% worth the listen if you haven't tried that out yet either. He is truly an incredible artist, writer, and person, and it'll be worth it to listen now to beat the rest of the crowd to it. I promise he's worth every word I could write and way more.

DWG, thanks for coming back!! I love you dude!! And Elli, thanks for going with me :) I love you so much and I love getting to spend some of my happiest moments with you. I can't wait for round two with both of you this weekend.

Thank you everyone for reading!!