Ramblings 003: Homecoming
Playing in the Pacific Northwest
Hi.
This letter is very much overdue. My goal is to send a newsletter out once a month, but June was a doozy… Here’s a quick recap.
My album, Rambler, came out on May 30th. I celebrated with some of my closest friends at the Wiener Circle, where my friend Makenzie and I had rented out the marquee for the day. We ate hot dogs, pizza (a custom pie I had concocted in collaboration with Pizza Friendly Pizza) and a spectacular carrot cake made by Makenzie to commemorate the occasion.
The next week, I played the new album live at the Empty Bottle, for a tremendous crowd of friends and family. I was joined by nearly a dozen musician friends and, frankly, we rocked the fuck out. It was one of the most spectacular nights of my life... can’t remember the last time I shed so many tears of joy. (Substack isn’t great for hosting videos, but there are some here on Instagram.)
Towards the end of June, I played a couple of really lovely solo shows: a house show in New Buffalo, Michigan and a wonderful all-ages matinee at Record Breakers record store in Avondale. Thanks to everyone who came to those lowkey shows, they were really wonderful and intimate in exactly the way I’d hoped they’d be.
Then, I announced something that’s been a long time coming.
My first Pacific Northwest shows!!!
I’ll be playing in Portland, Seattle, Olympia, Bellingham, and on beautiful Whidbey Island over the next two weeks! I couldn’t be more thrilled about this opportunity. I’ll be joined on the Washington shows by my friend Tristan, whose musical project Good Rest is a total delight. We’ll be playing with a whole bunch of pals on every stop, and each show promises new surprises and musical explorations! The Washington shows are all house shows with the exception of Rhythms Coffee in Olympia, which should be easy to find. Please reach out to me in any way to request the addresses for these house shows.
Tickets for Thursday’s show in Portland are on-sale here.
If you live in any of these towns, come on out and hear some music–or if you know anyone in any of these places, please send them my way!!
If you live in Chicago, the next chance to catch a set is on August 15th at Schubas for the Tiger Bomb Takeover. This is a phenomenally-curated bill–I open the show and then three of the best bands in town will take turns rocking your socks off.
A personal note
Amidst all of this excitement, I’d be remiss not to include an acknowledgment of something deeply personal that my family has been going through. My dear uncle Marty passed away last week, after a year-and-a-half battle with acute leukemia. I’ve been struggling to know how to write about his passing, but I’ll say this: he was a selfless man who regularly extended himself to great lengths to show up for his family. Despite working as a heart surgeon, he always seemed to make the time to be at every occasion and milestone. He was a steadfast supporter of my music–I will never forget the times he drove from the suburbs to attend a late-night show of mine in the city, or how earnestly he would always ask me about how things were going. He was a bright light in this world, and he is gone far too soon. Please keep my family in your thoughts as we learn what the world looks like without my uncle Marty in it, and as we work to support his family in this hard time.
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As always, if you’d like to support my work, please consider supporting the newsletter or buying merch/physical albums on Bandcamp. Reach out and stay in touch–let me know if you want me to come play music in your town! Stay tuned for more Ramblings coming very soon, and I hope to see many of you at a show this month.
All my love,
Sam