Samia, Christian Lee Hutson
Majestic Theatre 115 King St., Madison, Wisconsin 53703
Carlos Cruz
A close-up of Samia.
Samia
$25 ($20 adv.).
media release: Samia shares the new video for “Amelia” which appears on Honey , the sophomore album released earlier this year via Grand Jury . The video comes just ahead of a leg of April Tour Dates which kick-off next week, with support from friend and collaborator Christian Lee Hutson. Samia recently completed an extensive run of dates which coincided with the album release, and stopped by KEXP for a remarkable performance session.
The video for “Amelia” uses footage taken from the recently completed North American tour, filmed by Muriel Margaret, showing Samia’s band performing to packed houses of ecstatic fans singing along to every word. The song is named for Amelia Meath from Sylvan Esso, who along with bandmate Nick Sanborn, runs Betty’s, the North Carolina studio where Honey was recorded.
Samia shares: “ I wrote ‘Amelia’ on our last day in Sylvan’s studio after a night of talking until the sun came up. It’s about being grateful to have friends and to wake up every day. Muriel made this compilation video while we were on tour. ”
There’s a line on Honey , the upcoming album from Nashville-via-NYC songwriter Samia , about Aspen Grove, a collection of 40,000 trees in the plains of North America, all connected by a single expansive root system. There’s no stronger metaphor for the audience the 25-year-old empathy engine has been generating since she began releasing music seven years ago. Her songs, her fans, her friends: one enormous, interconnected ecosystem.
Honey , comprising eleven new moments of catharsis , is by and for that organism. The album was recorded at North Carolina studio Betty’s –- owned and operated by Sylvan Esso’s Nick Sandborn and Amelia Meath , frequent touring partners of Samia’s . It was produced by Caleb Wright , part of the team that helmed The Baby, Samia’s “ excellent 2020 debut ” ( Pitchfork ) , and a founding member of one of Samia’s favorite bands, The Happy Children. It features some of her nearest and dearest friends: Christian Lee Hutson , Briston Maroney , Jake Luppen , Raffaella . Its songs were surreptitiously road tested for her devotees while opening for Lucy Dacus , Courtney Barnett , and more.
Samia shares the following about Honey : “This record is about learning to see the love around you. Sometimes the only thing I can be certain of is the way it feels. Even when I zoom all the way out, the little things matter the most. I was trying to imagine looking back at the end of life and what I'd have to say about it right now. This is a little bit of it. Telling stories, making amends, trying to show people I love them. It's a community record - I made it with Caleb Wright and our friends in the woods in North Carolina.”
The album has two different sequences - one for continuous play on digital & CD and one for a side break listening experience on vinyl and cassette. The vinyl features its own unique mix and master tailored to the LP experience, while the album will also be available on Apple Music & other retailers in Dolby Atmos Spatial Audio. Limited edition copies of the vinyl purchased at indie retail feature an exclusive flexidisc of Samia covering The Yeah Yeah Yeah's "Maps," while deluxe edition copies purchased from her webstore or Bandcamp feature an exclusive flexidisc of Samia covering "Country" by Porches.
Praise for Samia and the new album Honey , released January 27, 2023 on Grand Jury:
"The singer-songwriter’s sensational sophomore album is incredibly raw — even for her." - Nylon
"Poignant & beautiful" - NPR
"Shattering power" - NME , 4/5
"This indie rock rising star is ascending quickly and making magic along the way" - Pigeons & Planes , Artist to Watch
"Devastatingly emotional and blindingly sublime" - Atwood Magazine
"There’s a very good chance this album might become timeless." - Northern Transmissions , 9/10
" Samia swings big on the sweet, striving 'Honey'" - Exclaim! , 8/10
"Playful, painful and loaded with hooks" - Guardian , 5 Stars
'It is music capable of helping us to navigate the world around us, and within us, with greater clarity and depth of meaning.' - The Line of Best Fit , 8/10
" Samia at her most human." - Dork , 4 Stars
" Samia broke out with her 2020 debut album The Baby, but Honey is the kind of poised follow-up that could see her follow in the footsteps of breakout cult stars Phoebe Bridgers and Mitski ." - Guardian
"If Olivia Rodrigo soundtracked 2021, and Phoebe Bridgers became everyone’s go-to in 2022, then it looks like 2023 is primed to be Samia’s year. Armed with a second LP that’s packed with the feels, ‘Honey’ could well be a new pop classic." - DIY , 4.5 Stars
"Refined songwriting and a bigger sense of intensity for the next effort." - Uproxx
"For her sophomore record, indie-pop darling Samia elevates her dreamy, tender sound as she examines the intricacies of relationships."- The A.V. Club
"Honey is worth sharing – not just because its eleven songs are exquisitely produced. Nor for Samia’s flawless vocals. But because it says something about the human condition, about perspective, distance and processing trauma and how we’re all just trying to find our way through." - The Forty Five