Barry Can’t Swim Stole My Heart in San Francisco

Barry Can’t Swim provided an unforgettable night of euphoria, dance, and freedom during the San Francisco stop of his 2024 Live Tour.

As one of the hottest new electronic dance music acts coming out of the UK, Barry Can’t Swim has swiftly captured our attention in recent years, and we’ve been unable to look away since. From his mind-blowing set at Portola last year to his BBC Radio 1 Essentials Mix, we’ve been on quite the Barry Can’t Swim bender lately. Following the October 2023 release of his debut album When Will We Land on the Ninjatune imprint, that obsession only multiplied ten times. The album has become a part of my daily routine.

After hearing that he would return to San Francisco as part of his 2024 Live Tour, I knew I had to be there. The opportunity to experience the euphoria I feel every time I hear “Deadbeat Gospel” or “How It Feels” live? Yes, please! The show was only the second stop of his tour and was set to occur at The Independent, a popular local venue I’d never attended before. I grabbed my best dancing shoes and got to work planning my trip.

Making my way to the venue proved trickier than expected, as it was a rainy evening in San Francisco. After arriving, I made my way over to the box office, walking past a small crowd of people hoping to buy extra tickets to no avail. If standing in the rain hoping for extra tickets isn’t a testament to the magic that Barry Can’t Swim creates, I don’t know what is.

Photo Credit: @priscillapple

From start to finish, Barry Can’t Swim in SF was a slice of dance heaven.

As he made his way onto the stage, the room erupted into applause and cheers, both for the opening DJ and for Barry Can’t Swim. The humble artist that he is, he applauded the opening DJ, thanked him, and then turned to the decks to get set up.

The room immediately lit up as he turned up the dancing mood with his own “Fiorrucci Made Me Hardcore.” The night went on with nonstop dancing and live versions of “Dance of the Crab” and “How It Feels.” The crowd singing along to the latter raised goosebumps on my skin.

Throughout the night, I found myself making friends with the people dancing next to me. One of them confessed that he’d attended the Austin, Texas stop, took a flight to the San Francisco stop, and would board a redeye flight to New York for that stop as well. I was only slightly surprised by this.

Barry Can’t Swim is entirely his own lane of dance music; there’s no denying that. As his dedicated fanbase continues to grow, we can’t wait to see what direction he takes in 2024. While the rest of the 2024 Live Tour is sold out, you can still check out When Will We Land? and follow Barry Can’t Swim on socials to keep up with his upcoming releases.