ADAN DIAZ AND GOOD KID TAKE ON CHICAGO
BY MARY ICENOGLEAdan Diaz. If you’re from Chicago or live in the area, you might have heard his name being thrown around. Adan Diaz has made his way onto Chicago Artists to Watch lists, and has graced almost every stage in Chicago from Lincoln Hall to Subterranean to now Thalia Hall, since he started releasing music in 2020. Now on tour with Good Kid and just months before taking the stage for one of the biggest summer music festivals, Lollapalooza, this young artist is one to watch.
At the packed Thalia Hall, Adan Diaz is tasked with warming up a Thursday night crowd ahead of Good Kid’s headlining (and sold out) set. The artist’s endearing personality matches the catchy, bedroom pop that takes over the venue. With bestfriends girl and three days, you can’t help but bop along with the tune, regardless of whether or not you had heard it before. The infectious energy of Diaz, paired with his accompanying bassist Will Izdepski and drummer Jake D, help round out the memorable performance. For such a young artist, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it’s clear he’s comfortable and confident with stage presence that perfectly encapsulates the music’s vibe.
During his hometown show, he shouts out his family attending the show between songs like ripped jeans (the first song he ever wrote) and two that were unreleased (which, by the way, can he please release those?! I’ve been dying for some new music in 2024). The Mexican-American artist performed two songs in Spanish (In the words of Diaz, “‘Cause I make Spanish music, too.”) including luchador, before winding down the set with havaianas, a song about “feeling like a flip flop” and closing with his most well-known song legroom. The performance left me wanting more, not because I felt it was lacking, but purely from excitement to see what the future holds for such an apparently talented artist whose career seems to just be getting started.
With just 30 minutes between sets, the audience grew increasingly excited as we neared 8:30. Good Kid came out with a fiery start, launching into No Time to Explain and Alchemist. The band felt both joyfully childlike and youthfully blissful in sound and in performance (and fans). Taking a brief intermission to hit a pinata to reveal a mystery song for their setlist and briefly playing what the band called “Paul’s Song” (an improvised bit dedicated to a member of their touring crew), it’s clear that this band doesn’t take themselves too seriously – in a good way.
The Canadian group gained popularity amongst the gaming community with several well-known personalities using their music in video game streaming after they had released some music in 2020 inspired by games like Donkey Kong. Leaning into this identity, Good Kid interacted with streamers and viewers, sometimes participating in streams and engaging with video game content that used their music. Later they went on to do their own headlining tour and to tour with Portugal. The Man in 2023.
Back to the show, a highlight for the night and a song that was a little more up my avenue was First Rate Town. This ballad, dedicated by guitarist David Wood to everyone who’s grown up in a small town, was a refreshing moment where the group’s lyricism showed through. The set
picked back up and didn’t slow down, for the most part, with Tell Me You Know during which they brought out Adan Diaz and bassist Will and their first song ever, Nomu. It seems as though every show is different on the “This Can’t Be The End” tour, with Good Kid playing Atlas which, they pointed out, hasn’t been played on tour yet. The rest of the setlist featured hits like Premier Inn and a Beyblade battle between an audience member and the band while they played the anime’s theme.
