Dougherty Dozen's Big Red Goes Solo, Selling Out DJ Tour

Alex "Big Red" Dougherty, eldest of TikTok's 7.8M-follower Dougherty Dozen, is selling out college DJ venues months after learning to spin.

According to USA Today, Alex Dougherty — the oldest of 11 kids in the Dougherty Dozen, the TikTok family with 7.8 million followers — has launched his own 'Day Made Tour,' which the outlet reports is selling out college campuses from Columbus, Ohio, to Oxford, Mississippi. USA Today notes that Alex, known as Big Red for his red hair, has only been DJing for about five or six months, but says his love of music has been lifelong. His mother Alicia says seeing his enthusiasm was a 'light bulb moment' for what he could do next in his career.

The surprising part, per USA Today's reporting, is that Alex deliberately stepped out of the family brand and built his own audience: many of his tour fans are his fans, not Dougherty Dozen fans. His sets lean into the viral memes about his family — he projects his mom's TikToks on screen behind him and keeps a mini fridge on stage, a nod to the fridge fans reference from his old room. USA Today also notes the family's audience grew up with him during the pandemic, which his mom credits for his strong pull with sorority crowds.

USA Today documents the turnout with specifics: one Instagram video of Alex dancing outside the University of Georgia's Alpha Phi sorority house drew more than 1.4 million views, and a goodbye video from a UGA student pulled over 71,500 TikTok likes. A TikTok from his Sept. 9 set drew a skeptical comment with over 70,000 likes — 'Y'all would go to the opening of an envelope' — yet the poster said she and friends had a great time anyway. Alex, who has a signature 'E85' dance, says social media 'showed me who I could actually be as a person.'

The transition comes with bumps. USA Today reports his sister Zoe gets 'heavily bullied online,' leading Alicia to remove her and some siblings from content entirely, and that brother James was recently arrested, which Alex publicly supported him through. Alicia says there is no pressure on the kids to become influencers, while at least two siblings reportedly want to follow Alex's solo path — and he tells them to keep making videos with Mom, who he says 'will bring you to the right direction.'