The Summer Set
| Company type | Band |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music |
| Founded | 2007 in Scottsdale, Arizona, United States |
| Founder | Brian Logan Dales, John Gomez, Stephen Gomez, Jess Bowen |
| Headquarters | Scottsdale , United States |
| Products | Music albums, singles |
The Summer Set is a pop rock group originating from Scottsdale, Arizona, composed of lead singer Brian Logan Dales, guitarist John Gomez, bassist Stephen Gomez, and drummer Jess Bowen. Their record labels have included The Militia Group (2008), Razor & Tie (2009–2011), and Fearless Records (2012–2017). The band’s discography consists of five studio albums: Love Like This (2009), Everything's Fine (2011), Legendary (2013), Stories for Monday (2016), and Meet Me At The Record Store (2025). Throughout their career, they have toured extensively alongside bands such as the Cab, We Are the In Crowd, Mayday Parade, Sleeping with Sirens, and All Time Low. The group took a break from October 2017 until August 2021.
Musically, The Summer Set combines elements of pop rock, pop punk, alternative rock, emo pop, synth-pop, and power pop, showcasing versatility within the pop genre.
Formation and Early Days
Prior to forming The Summer Set, Jess Bowen along with brothers Stephen and John Gomez were members of Last Call for Camden, a band that included Kennedy Brock of The Maine and Weston Michl. Last Call for Camden released one album titled Keep Your Feet On the Ground before disbanding.
In 2007, John Gomez, Stephen Gomez, Jess Bowen, and Brian Logan Dales established The Summer Set, later welcoming guitarist Josh Montgomery in 2008. Their debut EP, Love the Love You Have, was self-released in November 2007. By April 2008, they had signed with The Militia Group and issued the EP …In Color on June 24, 2008. That same year, the band recorded a pop punk rendition of Usher’s " Love in This Club".
December 2008 saw the release of their third EP, Meet Me on the Left Coast, which featured two new songs plus the "Love in This Club" cover as an iTunes bonus track. Additionally, in April 2010, they contributed a cover of "I Wanna Rock and Roll All Nite" originally by Kiss to Fearless Records’ compilation Punk Goes Classic Rock.
On April 5, 2011, their track "Chelsea" was showcased on the television show Dancing with the Stars during a Cha-Cha-Cha routine performed by actress Chelsea Kane and Mark Ballas. The song was penned by Brian Logan Dales for Kane, who was his girlfriend at the time.
Love Like This
The band's first full-length album, Love Like This, debuted on October 13, 2009.
An extended version entitled Love Like Swift was released on July 6, 2010. It included five live covers of Taylor Swift songs recorded at The Hoodwink during the Bamboozle Festival in 2010.
Everything's Fine
Their sophomore album, Everything's Fine, was released on July 19, 2011 under Razor & Tie.
Recording sessions took place in Nashville with producer John Fields, alongside collaborators such as Paul Doucette from Matchbox 20 and Mike Daly of Whiskeytown. Brian Logan Dales remarked that Fields challenged the band significantly and helped evolve early demos into a renewed sound.
This album represented a stylistic departure from their earlier work by incorporating slower rhythms and more introspective lyrics. Stephen Gomez noted that the title carried a degree of irony.
On May 6, 2011, they unveiled a fan-sourced lyric video for "Someone Like You," which featured footage submitted by fans during their Dirty Work Tour with All Time Low.
Legendary
During the summer of 2012, The Summer Set rented a residence in Tempe, Arizona, to compose tracks for their third studio album, Legendary. This shared living arrangement significantly influenced the album’s thematic content and dynamic energy.
The album Legendary was released on April 16, 2013, under Fearless Records, with the lead single "Boomerang" debuting the previous month in March. The music video for the follow-up single "Lightning in a Bottle" premiered on April 8, 2014.
Toward the end of 2013, The Summer Set secured victory in the Macy’s iHeartRadio Rising Star contest, amassing six million online votes. As part of their prize, they performed at both the iHeartRadio Music Festival and Macy’s Glamorama alongside prominent acts such as Sheryl Crow and the Backstreet Boys. Their rendition of "Lightning in a Bottle" was featured during the televised broadcast of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on November 28, 2013.
Stories for Monday
The band’s fourth studio effort, Stories for Monday, was released on April 1, 2016. Prior to the album launch, singles including "Figure Me Out," "Missin' You," and "Jean Jacket" were unveiled. Additionally, a music video for "Wasted" was released concurrently with the album.
On April 4, 2016, The Summer Set appeared at a rally supporting Bernie Sanders in Milwaukee, Wisconsin], sharing the stage with 3OH!3.
Hiatus
In early 2017, Brian Logan Dales introduced his side project DALES, which he had been developing since 2014 with producer Matt Beckley. DALES released its debut single "Young for the Summer" on April 30, 2017, followed by several more singles throughout that year. Dales also made appearances at Emo Nite DJ events in Los Angeles.
On October 17, 2017, The Summer Set announced an indefinite hiatus via Twitter. Dales confirmed this decision on his personal Tumblr and Twitter profiles.
Return and Blossom
The band revealed their reunion on August 23, 2021, through Instagram; however, former member Josh Montgomery was not part of this return. They dropped the single "Street Lightning" on August 27, 2021. This was succeeded by "Back Together" on December 3, 2021. On June 16, 2022, they released "Teenagers," featuring Chrissy Costanza from Against the Current. The following day, June 17, 2022, they announced a two-part album named Blossom, with its first installment set for release on September 9, 2022. The fourth single from the project, "Hard Candy," premiered on August 12, 2022; the final single "FTS," featuring Travie McCoy, arrived on September 2, 2022. The full Blossom album was officially released worldwide on September 9, 2022.
Meet Me At The Record Store
In early 2025, The Summer Set hinted at upcoming music through Instagram posts. On April 11, 2025, they announced their sixth studio album titled Meet Me At The Record Store, scheduled for release on August 15, 2025. The lead single "ADIDAS" launched simultaneously with the announcement and was followed by a second single titled "What I'm Made Of" on May 16, 2025.
Tours
In 2009, The Summer Set participated in Alternative Press's AP Tour alongside bands such as the Cab, Never Shout Never, and Hey Monday. They later toured with Cartel.
The following year in 2010 saw them performing at major festivals including The Bamboozle and Vans Warped Tour.
In 2011, they headlined the free OurZone Magazine Tour across the UK and joined the Dirty Work Tour in the US with acts like All Time Low, Yellowcard, and Hey Monday.
During the Vans Warped Tour 2013, The Summer Set played sets on both the Kia Forte and Tilly's stages.
In 2014, they toured the United Kingdom alongside Paradise Fears and William Beckett, after completing European tours with bands such as We Are the In Crowd, Sleeping With Sirens, and Mayday Parade. That year also included a US acoustic tour promoting Legendary, as well as another stint on Vans Warped Tour.
The band embarked on twelve acoustic performances across America during their "We Like It Quiet Tour" in 2015.
From April through June of 2016, they toured both the US and UK as part of the Stories for Monday Tour with support from artists like Handsome Ghost and Royal Teeth. Later that summer they joined Vans Warped Tour for its final two weeks. In August they launched the Made for You Tour where fans selected cities for shows taking place between October and November across the US.
Following their reunion, The Summer Set performed at Chain Fest in 2021 along with intimate shows in December and headlined the 8123 Fest in Phoenix.
In June of 2022, they toured throughout the UK before appearing at Sad Summer Fest. They marked their fifteenth anniversary and new album release with a special concert in Los Angeles on November 3, 2022.
Members
Present lineup
- Brian Logan Dales – lead vocalist (2007–present)
- Jess Bowen – drummer (2007–present)
- John Gomez – lead guitarist, pianist, backing vocals (2007–present)
- Stephen Gomez – bassist (2007–present)
Former members
- Dillon Morris – rhythm guitarist (2007)
- Josh Montgomery – rhythm guitarist (2008–2017)
Studio albums
| Album Title | Release information | Highest chart positions | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US Rock |
US Alt |
US Indie | UK | |||
| Love Like This |
|
173 | — | — | 28 | — | |
| Everything's Fine |
|
65 | 17 | 14 | 10 | — | |
| Legendary |
|
53 | — | — | 12 | 145 | |
| Stories for Monday |
|
84 | 12 | 8 | 8 | — | |
| Blossom |
|
— | — | — | — | — | |
| Meet Me At The Record Store |
|
— | — | — | — | — | |
| "_" indicates an album that did not enter the charts. | |||||||
Extended plays
- Love the Love You Have (independently released, November 30, 2007)
- ...In Color (The Militia Group, June 24, 2008)
- Meet Me on the Left Coast (The Militia Group, December 12, 2008)
- What Money Can't Buy (self-issued, November 28, 2011)
Singles
| Song Title | Year | Top chart positions | Sales figures | Associated Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US Rock Digital | JPN | UK | ||||
| "Chelsea" | 2009 | — | — | 38 | — | Love Like This | |
| "About a Girl" | 2011 | — | — | — | — | Everything's Fine | |
| "Someone Like You" | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Mannequin" | 2012 | — | — | — | — | ||
| "When We Were Young" | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Fuck U Over" | — | — | — | — | Legendary | ||
| "Maybe Tonight" | 2013 | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Boomerang" | — | — | — | — |
| ||
| "Lightning in a Bottle" | 2014 | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Figure Me Out" | 2016 | — | 31 | — | — | Stories for Monday | |
| "Street Lightning" | 2021 | — | — | — | — | Blossom | |
| "Back Together" | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Teenagers" (feat. Chrissy Costanza of Against The Current) |
2022 | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Hard Candy" | — | — | — | — | |||
| "FTS" (feat. Travie McCoy) |
— | — | — | — | |||
| "ADIDAS" | 2025 | — | — | — | — | Meet Me At The Record Store | |
| "What I'm Made Of" | — | — | — | — | |||
| A dash ("—") indicates the track did not chart or was not released in that region. | |||||||
External links
- Articles with short description
- Bands originating from Phoenix, Arizona
- American power pop bands
- 2007 Arizona establishments
- Musical acts formed in 2007
- Musical acts disbanded in 2017
- Musical acts reunited in 2021
- Artists signed to Fearless Records
- American pop rock bands
- American emo bands
- Rock bands based in Arizona
- Alternative rock bands from Arizona
- Musical groups disestablished in 2017