Daniel Caesar: Photos From the Billboard Cover Shoot

It’s been years since Daniel Caesar felt completely at home in Toronto. But sitting onstage at the Mod Club on a hot June night, he’s comfortable and happy in the glow of the familiar lights.

This is the venue where Caesar had his first major headlining concert in 2016 — long before he’d headlined Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena and New York’s Madison Square Garden, as he did on his most recent tour in 2023.

Tonight, standing before just 600 people both solo and accompanied only by his longtime collaborators Matthew Burnett and Jordan Evans on guitar and drums, respectively, Caesar has his particular magnetism on display; open-hearted and warm, his natural spontaneity and looseness connect him deeply to the fans at this intimate show, part of Billboard Canada’s THE STAGE at NXNE. They sing along to nearly every word.

Admittedly a little drunk and a bit high on mushrooms, Caesar is reflective and verbose: His tender vocals do the talking — but so does he. “The last time I played here, I was 21, 22,” he says from the stage. “Now I’m 30, and it’s really cool to see a bunch of people who look the way I looked the last time I played here… I was a scruffy-ass kid, in these Toronto streets. I was basically a homeless kid.”

He recounts how, on his way to the venue, he passed many of the most meaningful spots from his early career — days when, estranged from his parents as a teenager, he’d traveled from the suburbs to the city, jumping between friends’ couches and occasionally park benches.

Read the full Billboard cover story here.