Is it a Seger Bar? Boston man judges jukeboxes on their ‘Night Moves’
Brian Daly has come up with a simple way to judge the bars he visits. It all comes down to one question: is it just a bar, or is it a “Seger Bar”?
For several months, Daly has been filming short videos in bars around his hometown of Boston, asking bartenders to play a Bob Seger song. If the bartender agrees and puts Seger on the speakers, the bar earns the title of a “Seger Bar.” Daly then presents the establishment with a sticker recognizing its new status.
The videos, posted on his Instagram account @wickedfast, have quickly gained attention online and have racked up millions of views.
Daly says the idea comes from his appreciation for Seger’s music and the way it brings people together. Speaking from Boston, he described Seger’s style as timeless and relatable.
“Bob Seger is absolutely timeless. He speaks for everybody,” Daly said. “It’s working class, it’s the old guy sitting at the bar reminiscing about the old times. Bob Seger has his own sound and his own message. He’s just a badass dude that any American can get behind.”
Daly says he wouldn’t call himself obsessed with the musician, but he and his friends love what Seger represents.
“When I think of Bob Seger, I think of driving to hockey practice as a second-grader and my dad putting a ‘Night Moves’ cassette in his truck,” said Daly, 36. “Seger reminds guys my age of being a kid because our dads played that music for us.”
The idea for the videos started last November. Daly, who works in marketing and lives in Watertown, Massachusetts, was out drinking with his cousin Leah before heading to a Boston Celtics game. They were at Charlie’s Kitchen, a longtime bar in Cambridge, when Lady Gaga started playing over the speakers.
The music didn’t match the atmosphere they expected from the old Harvard-area bar. When their waitress came to the table, Daly asked for a Bud Light and then asked if she could play some Bob Seger. The beer request was granted, but the Seger request was denied. That meant Charlie’s Kitchen did not qualify as a Seger Bar.
Leah had secretly filmed the exchange, and Daly later posted the video online. It gained some attention, though nothing major at first.
A week later, he posted another video from Olde Magoun’s Saloon in Somerville, this time introducing the concept with the question, “Is it a bar, or is it a Seger Bar?” That clip took off, eventually reaching hundreds of thousands of views and turning the idea into a viral meme.
Since then, Daly has made nearly 50 videos testing different bars. Around 15 have passed the test and received Seger Bar certification.
Daly insists the interactions are completely real. He even has a rule meant to keep things authentic: bars that invite him to come in and promise to play Seger are automatically disqualified.
“If a bar messages me on Instagram saying, ‘Come on in, we’ll play Seger for you,’ that’s when they get blacklisted,” Daly said. “We try to keep it as authentic as possible.”
The rules are straightforward. If the bartender immediately agrees and puts on a Seger song, the bar passes. If the bartender hesitates, refuses, or tells Daly to use a paid jukebox app like TouchTunes, the bar fails.
Sometimes bartenders ask which song he wants. Daly might suggest tracks like “Fire Lake” or “Like a Rock.” Other times the bartender chooses the song themselves. He says “Night Moves” and “Against the Wind” are the most common picks.
Daly says the response to the videos has been overwhelmingly positive. Many of his followers are from Michigan, Seger’s home state, and some have shared emotional reactions to the music.
One message that stood out came from a group of American soldiers stationed overseas who said they watched the videos together and were reminded of home.
“These videos seem to inspire people,” Daly said. “Seger is a memory-striking artist.”
Daly believes the concept works because Seger’s music fits the atmosphere of classic neighborhood bars — the kind with dim lighting, comfortable stools and maybe an old jukebox.
His friend Brianna Giorgio, who has appeared in several videos, says Daly’s personality is a big reason the series works.
“I feel like anything Brian touches turns to gold,” she said. “He’s like a ray of sunshine. Everything with him is always fun.”
She also says the videos stand out because they stay positive at a time when much of social media thrives on outrage.
“At first people are confused when we ask for Bob Seger,” Giorgio said. “But by the end everyone’s laughing. It’s like walking up to someone and handing them a flower. It’s simple, but it’s fun.”
One of the first bars to earn Seger Bar status was Joco’s Bar and Kitchen in Waltham, Massachusetts. Owner Jayce Varden said Daly’s video brought a lot of attention to the bar.
“We had people coming in asking if we were a Seger Bar even before Brian showed up,” Varden said. The video filmed there has been viewed hundreds of thousands of times.
The bar has fully embraced the title. Customers who recognize the video often come in and ask to hear Seger songs.
“I grew up on Seger,” Varden said. “It means a lot.”
The popularity of the videos has also led Daly to sell “Certified Seger Bar” hats online. A batch of 50 hats priced at $50 each sold out in less than an hour, with orders coming from across the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.
Daly has already traveled to Philadelphia to film more videos and hopes to eventually visit Detroit, Seger’s hometown, to test the bars there.
His ultimate goal is simple: to share a beer with Bob Seger himself.
“I said from the beginning I won’t stop until I can sit down with Bob Seger, ideally playing darts and having a beer,” Daly said. “People ask what I’d talk to him about, and honestly, probably nothing. I’d just talk to him like any other guy at the bar.”
Members of Seger’s team say they are aware of Daly’s videos and think the idea is fun, though Seger himself has not commented publicly.
Daly says the project has deepened his appreciation for Seger’s music and the memories it creates.
“What I’m doing is pretty innocent,” he said. “When they play Seger, we celebrate it the way it deserves to be celebrated. It’s easy to celebrate with Seger, and people get excited when they hear his music. It doesn’t matter which song it is.”
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