“Is it a bar, or is it a Seger bar?” Daly opens his videos asking, with obliging watering holes earning a “certified Seger bar” stamp of approval from the budding social media star, who films the clips with his cousin, Leah (and occasional special guests). The videos have amassed a growing online following, including homages from fans attempting to see whether bars and eateries in other cities will play Seger’s music, and have even gotten some attention from the rocker’s marketing team.
“People think I’m like this crazy Deadhead [for] Bob Seger. I’m really not,” Daly told the Globe in a recent phone interview, admitting that while he loves Seger, he enjoys “a bunch of different artists” too. “But to me, Bob Seger is just so nostalgic to like, something about growing up in the cold, salty streets of Massachusetts.”
“When I think of Bob Seger, I think of going to youth hockey practice and my dad throwing on a cassette of Bob Seger,” he added, noting how Seger’s music reminds him of his father, who got him interested in classic rock legends like The Doors, The Who, and The Rolling Stones. “Seger just sort of always stuck to me as this kind of way cooler version of Bruce Springsteen. He’s just sort of badass.”
While Daly had dabbled in making online content “once every blue moon” prior to finding Seger success, he never tried to “be that guy,” he admitted, when it came to creating videos for social media.
“I feel like a lot of the influencers or whatever are just like, I don’t know, I think they’re all crazy,” joked Daly. “Not all of them, but most of them.”
The idea for the Seger series came while grabbing a bite and a drink at Charlie’s Kitchen in Harvard Square, the beloved Cambridge joint where Daly’s grandfather and great-uncle used to work. Describing Charlie’s as “an iconic place” with a “really dive-y, cool feel” — a “Seger bar, if you will,” noted Daly — he was trying to enjoy dinner before tuning into a Celtics game when his cousin noticed that the music playing didn’t match its more dive bar vibes.
“The music they were playing was just such not the mood. They were playing just Top 40, like, not even identifiable tracks,” explained Daly. “We’re sitting there, and Leah’s just like, ‘What the [expletive] is up with this music?… They should put on some Seger or something.’”
Daly offered to try to make it happen, and without him knowing, Leah filmed him asking the staff to play some Seger as he ordered a Bud Light (with Charlie’s, unfortunately, unable to attain “certified Seger bar” status), laying the groundwork for the format of the series, which he credits as being his cousin’s “brainchild.”
While the first video, shared in November, didn’t garner a ton of attention, the next clip, set at Olde Magoun’s Saloon in Somerville, “really blew up,” according to Daly, earning over 30,000 likes on Instagram (unfortunately again, this bar too wouldn’t oblige the Seger request).
Now with around 20 videos under his belt, Daly said that the response has been great so far from fans and most of the establishments he’s featured, “with the exception of one bar.” Some of his clips have even had live bands taking on Seger, including a memorable visit to The Burren in Somerville where he got local pub players Grain Thief to perform “Like a Rock.”
And while there have been plenty of places willing to rock out to the “Night Moves” singer, being a true Seger bar comes with a few requirements.
“To get the true Seger bar stamp of approval, which comes with a very highly [sought after] certified Seger bar sticker, they have to just, no hesitation, not even second guess it. Just be like, ‘Yeah, sure,’” explained Daly, noting how only three or four bars featured so far played Seger when requested and “didn’t even think twice about it.”
But it’s more than just the music, according to Daly, as the ideal Seger bar also features highlights like “Keno screens, old guys hanging around, potentially darts, [are] dim lit.”
“They got to have Budweiser bottles for sure, that just seems like what you should be drinking in a place like that,” he added. “Just a dive where old salts are telling stories, and like a melting pot for young and old.”
At the top of his list of certified Seger bars is West on Main in Watertown, the first to ever earn the official stamp, which was particularly special for Daly since it was in his hometown.
“That one got millions of views,” Daly said. “It’s cool that I was able to bring some global light to this new place that always treats locals and anybody coming in good.”
Coming in at No. 2 is Joco’s Bar & Kitchen in Waltham, “They definitely deserve a proper shout out,” Daly remarked, with Corner Pub in Downtown Boston also making the list. As for his favorite Seger tunes, it’s a tie between “Fire Lake” and “The Fire Down Below.”
Surprisingly, Daly has heard from Seger’s marketing team thanks to a neighbor of the rocker, who reached out to the Watertown social media star after seeing his videos online. Daly, not really believing the man, told the neighbor to share his videos with Seger, with the friend of the musician noting that Seger would be away for a while, but would try.
“So then around Christmas, I got a message from that guy again,” said Daly. “He sent me like the Christmas card from Seger, and then that led to Bob Seger’s marketing team hitting me up, thanking me, and sending me like an Edible Arrangements in the mail.”
But has Seger actually seen the viral videos? Judging by a call Daly had with Seger’s marketing team, the answer was “definitely not,” which made the moment awesome, actually, for him, as it was an “authentic” response worthy of the classic rock icon.
While Daly said he isn’t “doing this for the views,” getting the attention from fans is “fun,” noting how he was stopped for a selfie at a recent Patriots game tailgate. However, he does have one lofty, against the wind goal in mind.
“The overarching goal is to play darts and have a beer with Seger,” said Daly. ”That’s the real goal, other than just having a good time with my family and friends.”