Sam Lewis has collaborated with everyone from Leon Russell to The Wood Brothers. Chris Stapleton dubbed him “a modern Townes Van Zandt”. He’s often labelled with some form of the word ‘soulful’ (some have even compared his voice to molasses), and while Lewis’ style meets at a juncture of many different genres, he’s discovered what most musicians spend lifetimes working for; the place where feel-good music meets vital social commentary.
After spending a nomadic youth throughout the Southeast (USA), he began calling Nashville home in 2009. Since then he’s been joined on his journey by some of music’s most righteous and luminary figures. To date he has pressed the first few chapters in his career’s studio anthology with the release of his self-titled debut (2012), sophomore release Waiting On You (2015), and third studio release Loversity (2018), with all receiving critical acclaim.
Waiting On You was co-produced by roots music cornerstone, Oliver Wood (The Wood Brothers, Tedeschi Trucks Band). Combining their savant fluency in the soul music lexicon, Lewis and Wood called upon the instrumental palettes of masters including Mickey Raphael (Willie Nelson, Neil Young), Darrell Scott (Robert Plant, Guy Clark), Will Kimbrough (Jimmy Buffett, Rodney Crowell), Gabe Dixon (Paul McCartney) and the McCrary Sisters (The Fairfield Four), all placing their stamp on this enduring expression of uncompromised songwriting.
Billboard announced the highly anticipated third studio release Loversity and premiered the video for the first single, ‘One and The Same’. The album landed Lewis a spot on Rolling Stone’s “10 New Artists to Watch” list, with writer Marissa Moss describing the album as, “… seventies psychedelic soul, with a storyteller’s eye, a swampy Southern groove and an emotional, political punch.” Once again Lewis delivered an album filled with relentless grooves courtesy of rhythm section JT Cure and Derek Mixon (Chris Stapleton) and the transfixing guitars of Kenny Vaughan (Marty Stuart, Lucinda Williams) and Dan Cohen (Bruce Hornsby).
With a decade of touring behind him and performing mostly solo Sam has captivated audiences around the world with his songs and stories, glued together with his irresistible stage banter, finessed from performing in numerous music halls, clubs, theatres, festivals, music cruises and the occasional living room. SOLO, Sam’s latest release, is a solo-acoustic album featuring a mixture of new material alongside reimagined songs from across his back catalogue. Recorded at Southern Ground Studios in Nashville in front of a live audience in September 2019, SOLO is an intimate snapshot that captures Lewis in his element and is certain to be a fan favourite for years to come.
While each of Sam’s albums has a distinct sound, they all circle back to a universal theme – “we are all trying to get somewhere – all running from something or toward something; we’re all in it together, though.”
FEBRUARY
- Tue 4 – York – The Basement
- Wed 5 – Sheffield – The Greystones
- Thu 6 – Cirencester, Glos. – Sundial Theatre
- Fri 7 – Glastonbury – Hawthorns
- Sun 9 – Bristol – Hen & Chicken
- Wed 12 – London – Green Note
- Thu 13 – Winchester – The Hyde Tavern
- Fri 14 – Witney, Oxon – Fat Lil’s
- Sat 15 – Grayshott, Hants. – Applegarth Farm
- Mon 17 – Cambridge – Cambridge Junction J2
- Wed 19 – Norwich – Open
- Fri 21 – Lewes – Lewes Con Club
- Sat 22 – Swansea – Sin City
- Sun 23 – Shrewsbury – Henry Tudor House
- Tue 25 – Manchester – Gullivers
- Wed 26 – Leek, Staffs. – The Old Mill Smokehouse
- Thu 27 – North Wingfield, Derbs. – Community Resource Centre
- Fri 28 – Atherstone, Warks. – The OSCA Centre
- Sat 29 – Salisbury – The Vestry
