Coming off a week of steady rain, the melodic, hazy sound of Del Water Gap felt like the perfect way to start the weekend. On Feb. 20, 2026, Soma saw a packed house for Del Water Gap’s return to San Diego.

I arrived at the show just as the opener was taking the stage, and it was clear that many dedicated fans had arrived early. Most likely, they had been waiting in a long line prior to the doors being opened, hoping to get close, and maybe even to the barricade. That anticipation filled the crowded room as opener Hannah Jadagu took the stage. Unfortunately, I did not get the chance to listen to her music prior to the concert, so I went in with an open mind and ears. She performed a wonderful set, and I’m happy to say I’m a new fan. She even incorporated audience participation when she asked a fan to help her sing the chorus of her All My Time is Wasted. The shy fan was a little nervous at first, but Jadagu asked the audience to build her up, and the fan confidently sang the chorus.

Del Water Gap, also known as Holde Jaffe, took the stage right around 9:15pm to many loud cheers and screams. He opened with Small Town Joan of Arc, which was the perfect high-energy song to start the night. The first thing that stood out to me was Jaffe’s voice; I knew he could sing, but wow, hearing it live was something else entirely and nothing a recording could do justice.

Jaffe did a great job engaging with the audience and had a large stage presence. He would walk all around the stage and sing to different sections of the crowd. During the song NFU, he even had a fan help him control the lights on the stage, who was able to match the song’s energy beat for beat. Jaffe opened the song Hightops by talking about how it was the first song that gained popularity — a sweet shoutout to longtime fans.

The high energy only continued when Jaffe performed a cover of One Direction’s Steal My Girl. This had the crowd ecstatic, with almost every voice screaming the lyrics back to him — I think he did the original song beyond justice.

Towards the end of his set, Jaffe went into the crowd during the song Perfume, which had fans toward the front going crazy. He ended his concert with arguably his most popular song, Ode to a Conversation Stuck in Your Throat, which currently has over 180 million streams on Spotify. He had the entire crowd singing along to the extremely catchy song, with the crowd erupting when the first notes began.

Jaffe put on a one-of-a-kind performance, and I would highly recommend seeing Del Water Gap live if you have the chance.