[Photo by: Julie Pavlacka]
After months of rumors and wondering whether or not The Summer Set was still together, Fans were given disappointing news this morning when the band announced their indefinite hiatus.
After wrapping their last tour in fall of 2016, the bands singer, Brian Longan Dales, started performing intimate shows at bars nearly every month for his new solo project, DALES. Fans began to wonder what was happening with The Summer Set and commented their concerns all over social media. In January, after some rumors of the bands demise got out, Dales deleted all of his social media content and that concerned their fanbase to an even further extent. On April 30th, DALES. released their first single, "Young for the Summer", and played a full band show later that week at No Vacancy in Los Angeles, CA. His fans were supportive and excited about it, but still skeptical on what that meant for the band that they have grown to love over many years.
This morning, The Summer Set announced their break up on Twitter. Afterward, Dales posted a blog on his Tumblr explain what lead up to his decision to leave the band. He explained that while touring with The Summer Set he was dealing with a "darkness" and that he was "apathetic towards the album that [The Summer Set was] making". He told a story about running in to an old friend Matt Beckley, who is now a member of DALES., before going on a vacation and how that lead him to writing music just for himself while simultaneously working on The Summer Set's album Stories For Monday. However, after the album came out he explained that the "darkness" came back and he didn't want to "lose the spark" and he wanted to "follow his heart". This is when he announced the bands break up,
"With that being said, unfortunately that means The Summer Set will not be making any records or touring plans indefinitely.To John, Stephen, Jess, And Josh:I have loved this journey every single step of the way. On my best days and on my worst days. From The Modified Arts to The Macy’s Day Parade. We put more miles on that old van than dollars we may ever have in our bank accounts. (I still can’t believe we sold that van to a church.) This has been, and may always be my greatest ride".
He ended his post with well wishes to his band members, who seem to be keeping busy with new projects, and thanked fans for their continued support over the years.