Dope Lemon takes over San Francisco for a night on their first North American tour.

Angus Stone, known as Dope Lemon, left his ranch in Australia’s beautiful Byron Bay to take over North American stages for the first time, delivering some of the best alternative and indie sounds.

I was first introduced to Dope Lemon in California while driving down Highway 1 from foggy San Francisco to Big Sur. My boyfriend was playing Marinade as we drove by the seashores of Carmel. I was hooked immediately. The indie artist Angus Stone from Sydney made the big step over the pond and is now on a still ongoing world tour. Personally, it was one of the best shows I was lucky enough to see this year. Depending on the genre and show, you do not always need a big stadium and thousands of people around you. Often the smaller venues and more intimate private gigs give you a more familiar and wholesome vibe, allowing you to fully immerse into the melodies and follow the waves of sound. One such intimate venue is the Regency Ballroom in San Francisco, where my boyfriend and I went to see Dope Lemon’s show last week.

Not only was I in great company, but the whole crowd felt connected, and for one evening we all felt part of the Lemon family. Each song was welcomed with a big applause. You could tell the crowds favourites such as great opener Stonecutters or later on in the set list, Marinade.

As the show began we could hear the first sounds and see Angus Stone’s silhouette. A hat and one of many guitars he was playing throughout the evening. One missed cue, and Angus goes: “Yeh we fucked that one up. I swear it was only one Whiskey!”, which he toasted earlier to the crowd before downing it.

It was a joyous night and an unforgettable musical experience. Well supported by storytelling through the changing lights, always setting the right mood. At some point, I could find myself swaying in my partner’s arms, and one of my favourite tracks was still missing. A great piece from Dope Lemon’s so-called ‘Love Album’ – Rose Pink Cadillac.

I knew it was on the setlist and was like “Damn it’s time”! And in that second, the lights turned pink, and my partner went, “Yup you called it!“. We could hear the first chords of this piece, which Angus wrote sometime around Covid to pass some love onto the people listening to his music.

It’s hard to believe, that live music stopped not too long ago due to lockdowns and restrictions. This album is a great reminder of how lucky we are now to experience evenings like this, feeling the love and being blessed with music like Dope Lemon’s, to forget all our worries for one night.

The evening was a smooth ride through Dope Lemon’s tracklist with intense build-ups, following the wave of melancholic indie tracks with an exciting drizzle of rock elements.

Later on, Stone took us on a journey through his ups and downs with a little love story of a woman who inspired him for his track “Hey man, don’t look at me like that”, moving people to share their true feelings. So he opens this song with a beautiful harmonica solo and goes “If you love somebody…“ and the crowd answers “say it out loud!” – that moment still gives me goosebumps.

The night ended with the audience asking loudly for one more song. So the band came back up on stage and showed us their talent one last time with Kids falling in love – a beautiful nostalgic song and a perfect choice to end such a fantastic night.

Thank you, Dope Lemon.

You can still grab some tickets for the world tour here

Follow Dope Lemon via @dopelemonmusic

Interview by Caroline Hawks