“I was a kid from Maine who went from zero to 380 in about two seconds,” is how Howie Day explains his rise to pop music fame in 2004 with the release of his platinum hit “Collide”. A soft melodic song which was popularly used in film and TV as well as regularly played on the radio.
That’s a lot to happen to anyone, but especially a young kid who had started out with a self-financed album.
Howie Day began writing and performing music at the age of 15 in his home state of Maine. At age six, he began taking piano lessons and took up playing the guitar as a teen. He released his first (self-financed) album “Australia” in 2000 under his own label, Daze. The singer/songwriter then reached the peak of his popularity after signing with Epic Records and releasing his first studio album “Stop All the World Now” October 2003; the record that produced the Top 10 radio singles “Collide” and “She Says”. Howie’s acoustic folk pop style evolved with each record; he expands his range into experimental guitar sounds on “Sound the Alarm”, released in 2009. Day parted ways with Epic in 2010 and has since gone on to independently release his fourth studio album, “Lanterns”. This record has a more mellow sound throughout which makes it different from his previous work which usually has a mix of sounds and moods.
Since his rise to fame, Day has kept busy with a steady stream of concerts. Day has said that he enjoys performing for both large and small crows; at times preferring the intimacy of a small venue which helps the emotional lyrics resonate with his fans. Howie Day will be performing two shows at City Winery in Chicago on March 16th and 17th. Ticket info below.