Augustana and Phantom Planet

Dan Layus has fronted Augustana as it’s singer and primary songwriter since its formation in 2002. Building a dedicated following of fans off the backbone of hits like “Boston”, “Sweet and Low” and “Steal Your Heart”, Augustana have gone on to release 5 Full Length LP’s and multiple singles and EP’s. As a touring artist for over 16 years, Augustana have performed throughout North America, Europe and Asia and have opened for artists across multiple genres, including One Direction, The Chicks, Snow Patrol, OneRepublic and Counting Crows. The most recent LP release AUGUSTANA-LIVE (RECORDED FROM A LIVESTREAM EVENT) was recorded live in December of 2020 and released in March of 2021. The concert recording was a long awaited arrival for fans of the band, who’d never released a live album until that point. In a solo performance setting, Dan Layus plays through some of the most well loved music from the groups catalogue in a chronological order. The concert is intimate and authentic, nuanced and powerful. He makes the songs feel experienced and lived in, and cements a moment into a recording that mirrors what he’s done on stages across the world for so many years. Dan has also contributed as a writer on numerous songs for other artists, including “Loose Change” by the Grammy award winning group The Highwomen. He released his first and only solo album under his own name in 2016 called Dangerous Things. The record was a step into the Folk/Americana genre and was well received critically. Half of the LP featured the voices of the acclaimed two-time Grammy nominated group, The Secret Sisters.

After a farewell show at The Troubadour in December of 2008, the band went on indefinite hiatus. Over the next few years the members of the group stayed busy with other projects as Greenwald worked on solo material and collaborated on projects with the Young Veins and Phases. Farrar also formed the band Operation Aloha with members of Gomez and Maroon 5. Similarly, Robinson toured with Miniature Tigers. Reunited in 2011, Phantom Planet played a handful of welcome-back shows including several at the Troubadour where they were joined by guitarist Brautbar. Also around this time, Farrar began splitting his time between Phantom Planet and touring as a member of Maroon 5. Following work on Greenwald's solo project, Phantom Planet announced their official return from hiatus with the 2019 single "Balisong."