For his first time in Manila, Dayglow brings joy to center stage
Sloan Struble is asking to leave the stage, just for a second.
More popularly known by his musical moniker Dayglow, indie rock singer Struble is headlining the Karpos stage on Day 1 of this year’s Wanderland Music and Arts Festival. The energy was electric right before he ran backstage; maybe he broke a guitar string, or there’s something wrong with his microphone.
He returns wearing the iconic red and gray button-down of a Jollibee employee, on top of his shirt already emblazoned with Jollibee’s smiling face. It’s silly, but I found it a fitting comparison. Joy is central to both the singer and the bee: “Bida ang saya” may as well be Dayglow’s mission statement.
Struble was born in a Texas town with less than 5,000 people. At 17, like most high school seniors, he was thinking a lot about change, so he wrote and produced an album about it called Fuzzybrain in his bedroom. It went mega-viral, and things never stopped changing after that.
Growing up has been a constant theme in his music. His latest record, the self-titled Dayglow, begins with Mindless Creatures, a reimagined version of the first Dayglow song he ever posted online. It’s a full-circle moment that pays homage to his roots and how it led to everything he has now, but also reminds him of how far he’d come.
Ahead of performing at Wanderland Music and Arts Festival, the indie rock artist talks about making songs about growing up and finding people who relate to them on the other side of the world.
Dayglow is fitting, too, for Wanderland’s 10th year. The festival has witnessed all the people we’ve been in the last decade, and while change has been constant, so has joy. Ahead of his performance, Struble sits down with Young STAR to talk about everything that’s been different and everything else that will never change.
YOUNG STAR: You released Dayglow last year when you turned 25, and there’s a popular myth that our brain’s frontal lobe fully develops at that age. Do you feel like you have a developed frontal lobe now?
DAYGLOW: For sure! The album feels like that to me, like I have grown up. I’m more aware of myself and what I’m doing. That was the crux of making the album and it being self-titled—I understand what Dayglow is and who I am more than I ever have, so it felt like a fresh start. And it probably has to do with my frontal lobe (laughs).
How does it feel to have your music reach so many people, especially since the Philippines is literally on the other side of the world from your small Texas town?
And this is my first time here! It’s mind-blowing, and I’m so grateful for the internet, YouTube, and my fans for sharing my music with their friends.
In 2021, when you released your sophomore album Harmony House, you said it’s important that your music is hopeful and encouraging because people internalize what they listen to. Do you still live by this?
I’d definitely say so. As artists, (regardless) of the medium, like painting, making videos, or even doing interviews as press, you’re responsible for feelings. It’s an emotional job. I feel like it’s my responsibility as an artist to make them feel good with what I make. It doesn’t have to be instantaneous; it can be a sad song but it can still be hopeful.
That’s the most amazing thing music can do: I can be in a country for the first time and people already have such good memories associated with my music. I haven’t even met them yet! That’s so cool.
This reminds me of how you want your work to be authentic and honest but still joyful.
There’s a funny thing about that, because sometimes in the indie alternative world, for art to be cool, it has to be dark. Like serious (art) can’t be happy for some reason. I’ve always (taken) that as a challenge. I could make something that felt cool but wasn’t depressing or mad, which I can still be sometimes.
As you said, life has its ups and downs and we’re not happy all the time. Where do you get the strength and courage to still be authentically hopeful in your work?
The people in your life, those you surround yourself with, really matter. I also always try to make things bigger than myself, and it feels so much better to give than to get all the time. I see being an artist as an obligation to give people a feeling, almost like service work. I’m here to give people a good time, rather than showing up (to a show) and it’s all about me, like I’m being worshipped or something. That keeps me grounded and makes it a more fun experience, but of course I’m still figuring it out as I go.
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Follow Dayglow on Instagram at @itsdayglow and Wanderland Arts and Music Festival at @wanderlandfest.
