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The Last Show: Dan Croll at The Moroccan Lounge in Los Angeles

Photo Credit: Max Knight

Editor’s Note: Welcome to The Last Show, a new Vanyaland series where we talk to performers about their last traditional live appearance before the pandemic hit. As we slowly make our way out of this mess, and a return to stages appears to be coming (eventually), here are the stories of bands, artists, comedians and others who performed their last live gig in front of an audience around this time last year. These are their shows, their stories, their memories.

Vanyaland: When and where was your last show before the pandemic?

Dan Croll [Los Angeles, CA]

Dan Croll: My last show was here in Los Angeles at The Moroccan Lounge on February 6, 2019, which now feels like an absolute lifetime ago.

Who else was on the bill?

Me and my good friend/fellow Brit Luke Sital-Singh.

What was notable about the show?

This was one of the first shows I’d played since the previous album, and it was really the trigger moment for the third album [August 2020’s Grand Plan]. I’d not long after the show head to Richmond to start recording, and return with the momentum to kick off the campaign the week of the March 16, 2020, quite literally the week everything went into lockdown.

What do you remember the most about the show?

I mainly remember how good it felt to be playing solo, the whole Idea of the third album was that I was getting some confidence back, and writing songs for me as opposed to a band or for production values. I was definitely more nervous than I’ve ever been, but at the same time it was quite liberating just turning up with a guitar and keyboard and stripping everything down.

If someone told you live music would be going away for at least the next year, what would you have thought?

“Probably not the best time to release a new album.”

If someone told you live music would be going away for at least the next year, what would you have done differently?

I probably would’ve found a cheaper apartment, and tried to invest my time and money more in the studio writing and creating.

What do you have coming up or coming out:

I have a live album coming out April 1 from a trip back to Spacebomb Studios where I recorded Grand Plan, and I also have some new tracks coming out not long after! 

Dan Croll’s ‘Grand Plan Live’ is out this Thursday (April 1), with the live show premiering the day of its release via YouTube at 11 a.m. PDT and 2 p.m. EDT. Follow him on Instagram @dancrollmusic.

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