DEL WATER GAP - CHASING THE CHIMERA WORLD TOUR
The album cover for Chasing the Chimera pictures a silhouette of a man leaping against a black and white background. Credit: Spotify
Raleigh rallied together for the opening night of the Chasing the Chimera World tour, selling out the show and screaming. every. lyric.
Del Water Gap, aka S. Holden Jaffe, aka Horsewithbowlcut, has just started his third world tour, after releasing his third studio album, Chasing the Chimera. A ballad of moving on, grief, self-reflection, and appreciation, this album has perfected his already incredible discography.
Credit: Emily Stabell
Following his most recent tour opening for Niall Horan during The Show Live on Tour, Del Water Gap (DWG) is back on the road, targeting North America and Europe.
Del Water Gap started getting his (well-deserved) flowers back in 2020, when he released "Ode to a Conversation Stuck in Your Throat” gaining 180M streams.
He played The Ritz, in Raleigh, and the show was completely sold-out. When I got my ticket during the presale back in October, the General Admission price was $46.
Merchandise consisted of tshirts, sweatshirts, vinyls and CDs. Sad moment for my poster wall. It was pretty reasonably priced (compared to other prices these days), and all of it can also be ordered online at: https://delwatergap.net/Store
Below are the examples of the merch seen at the show. Credit: Emily Stabell
His opener, Hannah Jadagu, joins him on tour, singing songs from her two albums—Aperture (2023) & Describe (2025)—filled with layered melodies and explorations of personal growth and distance.
Pictured above: Hannah Jadagu
Credit: Instagram
Her setlist consisted of:
“Lose”
“What Is Going On?”
“Warning Sign”
“Gimme Time”
“Couldn’t Call”
“Normal Today”
“Doing Now”
“Say It Now”
“My Love”
At 9:15pm, Del Water Gap opened with one of his highest-streamed songs off of his new album, Small Town Joan of Arc. The intimate stage setup with white sheets creating a bedroom feel was perfectly accompanied by DWG’s electric stage presence.
Setlist:*
“Sorry I Am”
“Better Than I Know Myself”
“Please Follow”
“Dollhouse”
“New Personality”
“Ghost In the Uniform”
“NFU”
“Beach House”
“High Tops”
“Waiting On The Day”
“Eastside Girls”
“How To Live”
“Coping on Unemployment”
“All We Ever Do Is Talk”
“Damn”
“Perfume”
“Ode to a Conversation Stuck in Your Throat”
*There is speculation of a rotating setlist for future shows, so the setlist above might not be verbatim.
The setlist was perfect (in my opinion), with a great mix of his new album and his older songs.
You know what they say, old habits die hard. In this case, this meant honoring the tradition of going from the stage and into the pit during the bridge of “Perfume”.
Credit: Emily Stabell
It was evident that the crowd was in love. Every lyric was sung, every guitar riff appreciated, and Del Water Gap was incredibly appreciative.
Del Water Gap continues his tour until early April, and will spend his summer playing Chrysalis Los Cabos, Bottlerock Napa Valley, The Governors Ball, and Bonnaroo. He’s staying booked and busy!
Credit: Instagram