From festival main stages to his first-ever De’Wayne’s World headline tour in the States, De’Wayne has been making up for lost time on the road this year. Ask him to pick out a favourite moment so far, and he’s simply got too many to choose from.
“I feel so honoured,” he grins. “I would say [festivals] Governor’s Ball and Lollapalooza, which were a chance for me to get on main stage with what I like to say is ‘the big boys’, and I get to showcase what I do in front of a huge crowd who don’t really know who I am. Those were very special, and I was full of emotions after Lollapalooza. Getting to play before Green Day – who are one of my favourite bands – and people just really reacted very well, moshing and doing things at one o’clock when they should have probably been at church or meditating (laughs). I love that!”
As for his debut headline run, he was “very emotional” about the whole thing, taking time out of his day on tour to write about these moments and be present and grateful for it all.
“Every night was like, ‘Oh my god!’ to be honest with you,” he says. “Man… to have my own people come out and rave with me is just all I’ve ever wanted, you know? Some nights it would be 70 kids, some nights it would be 100-200 – it was in that range, and I loved that. The bands that I dig so much had to do that groundwork, and I love just going to random cities and having kids come out. It was a special moment for me, because I had been waiting for that moment for so long.”
So many gigs also gave De’Wayne the chance to perform 2022 collabs DIE OUT HERE and GOOD MOOD – and they provoked such strong reactions, that he’s optimistically looking ahead to second album My Favorite Blue Jeans with “confirmation” that he’s on the right musical path.
“They really touched people in a way that I hadn’t done before, and to get to play them live at these festivals and shows really worked well,” he smiles of the tracks, which will both be on the upcoming follow-up to STAINS. “I think I’ve found a really good sweet spot in just making really great rock music, and telling stories, and doing poetry over these songs that are still catchy and you can sing along to them, but you can also really feel something. I think people are really gonna dig [my next album], and I think it’s a step-up from STAINS in a real way. This will be my second record, and I love that at the beginning I was really finding myself and maturing. I think that the shows, and me just hitting that sweet spot mentally, just really helped with this record. People are gonna be surprised with some of the things that are on there (laughs).”