Review: Day We Ran at Songbyrd on July 24

Sun-drenched indie pop band Day We Ran returned to D.C. last Friday at Songbyrd. Brothers Matthew, Michael, and Daniel Lough, alongside drummer—and brother with a different last name—Tane Cullen took stage in D.C.’s famous venue by Eastern Market.

Openers The Braymores, the “indie/folk rock four piece nugget” from Chi-Town impressed with their surf and beach rock looks and long hair. The group, excited by the release of their new album When The Lights Went Out that same day, executed songs like “Where Did My Baby Go” and “August” from their 2024 Who You’d Have Been.

A talkative audience slightly deterred from the experience; though perhaps to no fault of the headliners. The New South Wales band who sang about youth in New Zealand performed through the somewhat distracted onlookers.

The acoustic “Naked at Your Door” incited a sing-along by the audience; “Piha Lounging” too created a Songbyrd that sang back. The former, originally released as a single earlier this year, doubles as the titular track to the group’s debut EP Naked At Your Door (2026). I’d argue the band successfully showed themselves as more than just the inventors of “Foaming,” the single featured in the hit Netflix TV series Outer Banks that helped propel them to fame.