Check out my new video for my first single, “Dresser Drawer” off of my upcoming record due January 31st! You can see it on Performer Mag’s website today, HERE and tomorrow it will be on AOL’s Spinner. 

Please check it out and share with your friends! You can also download the single for FREE at my Bandcamp, HERE!!

Yay! Enjoy!

So, one thing is pretty clear: I suck at keeping up with this friggin blog but I’m-a do mah best to change that! Sheeeeyet.

There have been lots of things happening and lots of things in the making to be discussed at a later date, but let’s talk about the things we can talk about so we can start talking about something, no?

First of all, a few weeks ago I did an acoustic performance of my first single, “Dresser Drawer” off of my upcoming, self-titled, first ever, full-length album on Balcony TV. You can catch the performance RIGHT HERE. 

Second of all, we just shot the video for that same single I just spoke of, and it, as well as a free download of the song, will be available at the beginning of December. There’s some cool special effects and I’m super excited to see it and show everybody! I will post the video as soon as it’s available. I hope I don’t look fat …

Lastly, the whole album will be out January 31st, and something else exciting is possibly happening along with that, but I can’t talk about it until it’s confirmed which I hope it will be in a few days! 

Look out for a single release show at the beginning of December and definitely an album release at the beginning of February. It feels so far away, but it’s not that far away.

Stay tuned folks!

Hugs,
Sami

Also, here are some pictures of Ryan Gosling and his dog. You’re welcome.

When I was graduating college and anticipating my move to NYC, the only venue I really knew about was the Living Room. I heard about how Norah Jones played there and other people I had listened to. To me, the Living Room was like the ultimate place to play in NYC and I dreamt of one day being able to play there. I remember when I first moved here, Jaymay was doing a residency there and I thought, “that is something to strive for”. I went to see her play and thought about how awesome it would be if I someday got to do the same thing. Now, after playing there over the past 4 years, I’m finally getting to do what I once felt was so far fetched in my early NYC days: play a residency at the Living Room! I am so excited and can’t wait to make each show a special experience for the audience and myself. In anticipation of my upcoming, first full-length album, I’ll be debuting new songs over the 4 Tuesdays that I’ll be there. So please come and share this special time with me and bring friends! And to top it off, it’s FREE! Here are the dates:

Tuesday, July 5 @ 10pm
Tuesday, July 12 @ 10pm
Tuesday, July 19 @10pm
Tuesday, July 26 @10pm

http://www.livingroomny.com/

Can’t wait! 

Tonight is the last night of my tour and we are finishing it off with a boom with a full band in Philadelphia, PA, my home city, at The Grape Room. Show starts at 9! This will be my first time playing with a full band in Philly, and I’m so excited to be playing with people after playing by myself for the past 2 weeks! 

As my first tour comes to a close, I look back and think about how much I have learned over the past 2 weeks about what to do and what not to do in the future. Those little tid bits I’ll keep to myself for now, but in general, I had an amazing time and I don’t want it to end. I always knew I’d like touring but I have loved every minute of this. Well, maybe not the living out of a suitcase thing, but everything else! I have loved seeing old friends and making new ones. I have loved seeing old places and discovering new ones.

Something I have really seen over the last 2 weeks that makes me feel good is that there are a lot of good people out there. My old friends were so great and supportive, getting so excited and taking care of me and Ashleigh when we came to town. My new friends were incredibly kind and generous, I can’t wait to see them all again. I’m so glad I got to spend time with everyone I spent time with and it really makes me look forward to doing this more and more. 

Thank you to all those, new friends and old, I met along the way who may be reading this. You have made this tour really special and fun for me, and I hope to see you all again soon!

Oh hey! I know I was supposed to be doing this everyday, but I didn’t, and now I’m catching up to speed. I decided to just break it down to my favorite shows so far!

Sooo, I had my first night of the tour in Houston at a quirky place called Notsuoh. When I first got there, I was basically about to play to an empty room, but two local musicians who were playing in the other room (E and Wilson) were kind enough to let me go before them, so I got to play to an actual audience which was cool! Lot’s of vaudeville-y characters there. Lot’s of sweetness and support. It was a great way to kick off the tour!

The next place that we loved was Augusta, GA. I played at Sky City there. Augusta is such a cute town. We were greeted by Matthew Buzzell who was opening the night, and then the owner of Sky City, CoCo, met us soon after. We were looking for somewhere to eat and they both suggested the Bees Knees which was delicious and gave us a discount because I was playing at Sky City! Then some stuff happened that can’t be repeated, but good stuff. THEN they let us drink for free, and THEN Matt played and he was/is AWESOME! Please check out his band, Night People. He played a baritone ukelele with a loop pedal. His songs were awesome, his covers were awesome, he is awesome, and I am hoping he comes to NYC soon so I can see him play again! My show went well, there were a nice amount of people in the audience, and then everyone was so sweet and complimentary afterwards, even apologizing that there weren’t more people there even though I don’t know anybody in Augusta, so anything over nobody is a good amount of people to me! W loooove Augusta and definitely plan on going back there.

I played in Roanoke, VA at Kirk Ave Music Hall which was awesome because I went to Roanoke College so I got to go sit in my old coffee shop for a bit and drive around the ole’ campus. It was so nice to be back and to see some old friends and meet some new ones. My friend Cyrus Pace hooked us up with the gig and I asked Valerie McQueen to come play the night too since she too is into the music thing and is also a Roanoke Alumni. She has such a beautiful, flawless voice, you have to listen to her. She was joined by Mickey Nelson who was super sweet and wrote some really beautiful songs with Valerie. The crowd was made up of really good listeners, which is always a pleasure to play for. I hadn’t eaten since before 11am that morning, so I was already feeling pretty tipsy after two whiskeys and ginger ales, but then we were brought to another bar that had karaoke, and I had more whiskey and ginger ales and three shots of tequila! Yikes! But we had a great time. Cyrus had hooked us up with a beautiful condo just a block away from the venue, so we took advantage of the fact that we didn’t have to drive. Fun times!

Last night I played at The Garage in Charlottesville which is a DIY venue that is exactly what it is called, a garage! It was super cute, and my friend Sam Fallon from college was kind enough to bring quite the entourage. There were some people there during my set for the other band, so them along with Sam’s entourage made for my biggest audience yet! It was cold being that it was in a garage, but it went really well and they were all listeners! My favorite! Charlottesville is beautiful, and we had a great time. 

Now onto Towson, MD, Raleigh, NC, Washington, D.C. and Philly, PA! The Philly show is at The Grape Room and is a full band show. I can’t wait!

Ashleigh and I have decided to try to post a video each day that we are driving, where we are being stupid. Enjoy the first addition! (And beware of my huge face).

Austin and SXSW were awesome! I’d never been to either before and everything exceeded my expectations! Austin is beautiful, and SXSW is so much fun and so exhausting. I played 2 shows there that were both very different and cool in their own ways. Made new fans at both, yay! 

Enjoy the pics!

Now we’re in Houston getting ready for the first show of my tour tonight. Excited! 

These two fellas are Jake and Jared. They were kind enough to allow me to stay with them during my stay in the Big Easy. 

Jake enjoys meditation, screen writing and animals. Jared enjoys being a cop, guns, and giving me shit. 

These are just a few pics from my time in New Orleans. I didn’t play any shows here, it was just little a pre-sxsw/tour vacation, but I highly recommend this beautiful, amazing, soulful, lively city to anyone! 

Enjoy the pics!

Woo hoo! Here I goooooo!!
Friday, March 18, time is TBA (but it will be an afternoon show)
Hotel Vegas1500 E. 6th Street
Austin, TX
*Unofficial SXSW showcase 

Monday, March 21, time TBA
Notsuoh314 Main Street
Houston, TX 

Wednesday, March 23 @7pm
Hotel Indigo
1719 West End Ave.
Nashville, TN
* As a part of the singer’s in the round series 

Thursday, March 24, Doors @8pm, Music starts @10pm
Sky City
1157 Broad Street
Augusta, GA 
$5 

Friday, March 25, @7pm
O’Brion’s Pub
520 Folly Road
Charleston, SC (James Island)

 Monday, March 28, @7:30pm
Kirk Ave Music Hall
22 Kirk Avenue SW
Roanoke, VA 
w/ Valerie McQueen 

Tuesday, March 29, @8:00 pm
The Garage
100 West Jefferson Street
Charlottesville, VA 

Wednesday, March 30, time TBA
Bread and Circuses
27 E. Chesapeake Ave.
Towson, MD 

Thursday, March 31 @7pm
Loco Lu’s
5210 Hollyridge Dr.
Raleigh, NC 

Friday, April 1 @11pm
Busboys and Poets
2021 14th Street (@V)
Washington, D.C.
* I’m the featured artist for their monthly open-mic, there’s not a set time for me, but the event starts at 11pm, and I’ll play sometime after that. Apparently this sells out every time, so if you want to come, you should come early! $5 

Saturday, April 2 @8:30 pm
the Grape Room
105 Grape Street
Philadelphia, PA (Manayunk)
$5
*First full-band show in Philly!

 For any additions to the schedule that might pop up (times, shows etc.), you can click here: ReverbNation

 And then finally, here is the info for my biggest show yet, Joe’s Pub!! 

Friday, April 8, @11:30pm 
Joe’s Pub
425 Lafayette Street
New York, New York
*Full band show, debuting a song or two from my upcoming album.Tickets: $12, you can purchase them HERE
Also, Joe’s Pub recommends reserving a table, otherwise it’s first come first serve or standing room only. You can call here:  212 539 8778 to reserve a table, and there is a $12 minimum per person.