Del Water Gap Brings the Chasing The Chimera Tour to SOMA San Diego

February 20, 2026 | SOMA MainStage, San Diego, CA

S. Holden Jaffe, the Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter who performs under the moniker Del Water Gap, rolled into SOMA's MainStage to deliver the latest stop of the Chasing the Chimera World Tour, and the sold-out crowd made clear San Diegans were amped to see the indie-rocker in person. Opening the night was Texan bedroom-pop artist Hannah Jadagu, a gentle soul who gained a following after creating and releasing music in high school using GarageBand on her iPhone 7. She warmed the room beautifully, setting an intimate and emotionally open tone with call-and-response moments for her song "All My Time is Wasted", even letting a lucky fan have a solo moment with the microphone.

Del Water Gap emerged through a haze of fog and opened with "Small Town Joan of Arc". The crowd sang back from the first note, and Jaffe energized the sold-out space with his charisma. He flowed into "Sorry I Am" and "Better Than I Know Myself" before settling into the album's more jazz-inflected material, "Please Follow," "Doll House," and "New Personality," as the audience swayed, jumped, and sang along while the band leaned into the rhythm of each song. The first act of the night was a study in patience and build, Jaffe letting the songs do the emotional heavy lifting while his band locked in around him with a precision that made the whole thing feel effortless.

The middle stretch of the set belonged to the yearners. "High Tops," a single from 2018 that gained him a lot of popularity, "Waiting On The Day," and "Eastside Girls" kept themes of unrequited love and longing front and center. During this stretch, Jaffe sat on a stool, and it became the perfect moment for the audience to raise their flashlights, a budding new tour tradition. "Ghost in the Uniform" and "NFU" followed, with Jaffe inviting a fan to commandeer the lights during "NFU," one of several moments across the night where the wall between performer and audience essentially dissolved. The crowd was elated when the first chords of "Steal My Girl" rang out and bounced and jived while he delivered a cover of the famous One Direction song.

The final act swung the energy hard in the other direction. "How To Live," "Coping on Unemployment," and "All We Ever Do Is Talk" had everyone jumping once again. A memorable visual came during "Damn," with Jaffe using a sewing machine to embroider onstage, adding a theatrical element to the proceedings. During "Perfume," which Jaffe explained was about running around New York City playing pool, he got down from the stage and made his way into the crowd, singing the final chorus face-to-face with fans in the pit while a camera fed the image back to the stage screen. "Marigolds" and "Beach House" gave the room a chance to breathe before the inevitable closer. Del Water Gap closed the show with "Ode to a Conversation Stuck in Your Throat," one of his most popular songs and a longtime fan favorite.

The setlist effortlessly sprinkled in songs throughout his discography, perfect for those who are new or longtime listeners. What Jaffe has built with this tour is something genuinely rare: a show that scales up to a room the size of SOMA's MainStage without losing any of the intimacy that made people fall for his music in the first place. San Diego got a lively version of Del Water Gap on Friday, fully formed, generous with the crowd, and playing with joy.

Photos by Phil Tani