Samantics
Share
Next Gen One Man Band - All about the words. Gigs - https://www.bandsintown.com/a/1047270-samantics
Oh WOWEE... Maui Waui... What an absolute delight you were. After a brutal 9 and half hour drive, that was supposed to be less than 5, I arrived a day early (if I hadn't I would have most likely missed my set if the traffic was in a similar state the following day). That gave me a chance to fully relax and enjoy what has come to be another of my most recommended festivals. The thought that goes into Maui is exceptional, it's a festival created from a love of music and a love of people. It's a huge shame that it was the final one, after 13 years (of which each year had it's own giant collage of pictures celebrating each one around the festival), as this sort of festival is becoming rarer these days. I'm sure so many people will argue that Reading / Leeds / Download etc are 'proper festivals', and I would have said that too years back, but since I've been able to discover and perform at smaller, grassroots events, it's so clear to me that bigger festivals often lack heart, thought, creativity and a real love for what they're doing... and it's mostly just to make as much money as they can, but that just doesn't feel like its the case for smaller festivals. I didn't start writing this with the intent to go down this path of festival bashing as I'm not looking to throw shade anywhere, so I'll head back to the reason I'm here... Maui Waui was filled with heart, creativity and love, it was simply beautiful. The crew were so welcoming (and always have been since I first started attending); shortly after I arrived I walked into the festival feeling a little anxious (as I sometimes tend to in crowded spaces) until I clocked one of the sound engineers from a distance and we basically ran to each other in slow motion, hair bouncing and smiles wide; I instantly felt relaxed and, despite being nearly 300 miles away, like I was home. I then got to enjoy two nights of it's offerings, discovering new bands, stumbling across venues I didn't know existed and watching bubbles float around for far longer than I probably should have 😅 Then, if that wasn't great enough, I also got to play a gig! I had the most fun, playing to a fairly equally split audience of newbies and return..ies... and the love and support they showed was incredible. It was a blessing to be part of and I will miss it in the future, I'm just pleased that I got to discover it in the first place and spend a few years taking it all in. Thank you to everyone who came and watched the show, even if it was to shelter from the rain, thank you for staying once the sun came out! Thank you to the whole Maui crew and the Flavour Parlour family for making me feel so welcome, and well done on creating such a special place and giving so many people a such a special place to escape reality for a few days over they years. All the love to you all! Now festival seasons is starting to draw to an end, I am able to draw my attention to the upcoming tour with the brilliant Skinny Lister that I'm lucky enough to be support on! More on that very soon, but for now, I hope you're enjoying the bank holiday. I'm off to have a cup of tea. x
27/08/2026
I cannot believe festival season is nearly over 😭 but what a summer it's been! Next up for me is another real highlight, and what's more, it's now been revealed this will be the last Maui Waui which will be a huge loss, as it's a beautifully crafted labour of love for music, creativity and people. I am honoured to be back and to be seeing it out with a bang. Saturday @ 4pm in the Flavour Parlour ❤️
I cannot predict the future... but I do have an inkling that this post might be a rather long one. Beautiful Days, what can I even say. I know I could do the standard 'thank you for an amazing weekend' post, which would be entirely genuine but, I'd like to break it down in a little more detail if I may. I'll start near the beginning, even though the video I'm sharing with this post is from deep within the most incredible, hectic and meaningful weekend imaginable. I knew this was always going to be a particularly crazy 4 days, given how many different things there were to do... I had 1 panel discussion, 2 gigs (1 of which was a secret) and 3 guest spots with other bands... and of course, a 3 and half year old to keep fed, watered and in sight (though with a lot of help for that one to be fair).
So, starting with the panel discussion, I was invited to talk about my experiences with ADHD and neurodivergence, alongside 3 other lovely neuro spicy individuals in the Rebel Tent. It was probably the thing I was most worried about as I didn't have any noises or ukuleles to hide behind and I never really know what's going to come out of my mouth. It was great to see such a big turnout for so early on a festival Friday morning and, despite each panellist forgetting what they were talking about at one point or another,😅 it seemed to be well received and beneficial to at least some of the people who I got to speak to after. I didn't say anything I massively regretted and I learned a lot myself too so it was a big win for thing number one! From then it was briefly back into dad mode with an already shattered Sulli who was definitely pushing all the buttons, before heading over to join Nick Parker on the main stage for the collaboration he had curated during lockdown... This was thing 2 I was most worried about; I had written an alternative verse for 'Sometimes' by James back when the world was locked down which I quickly recorded while reading the words from the screen, before then cracking on with trying to navigate through a potential apocalypse. When Nick asked if I'd be up for joining in I was entirely up for it, I was pretty sure the words would be somewhere in my brain... then when I listened to the track and realised I couldn't recall any of it at all, I felt the panic a bit more.. 😬 but after roughly 100 run throughs of the verse on repeat, it started to stick! It was amazing to be part of, I was stood alongside Hannah and Abbe and a stage full of other incredible musicians, while the sun shone down on us all, it was truly magical. Truth be told, in classic Sam / SOTS style, we were seconds away from missing the whole thing as we thought it was going to be the last song in the set so we were off getting water in preparation when I just happened to hear the word 'collaboration' in the distance so we RAN, thankfully fast enough for SOTS to reach the mics just as their verse started! It was SO much fun and the crowd were amazing, turning out in droves for Nick's set. I think I only got one word wrong, which on paper is great but it's obviously the only thing I thought about afterwards 😅 (pretty sure that was covered in the panel discussion).
Roll on Saturday, despite thinking I was actually quite calm about my set that day, it didn't take long until I was frantically running around trying to work out how to get all my equipment to the Little Big Top after hitting a few unforeseen hurdles, but with a good few miles or running back and forth, I was able to sort someone (a hero called Pete) to drive me down with all my things which I was insanely grateful for as I have a quite ridiculous amount of stuff for one person. It's my own fault. I'm usually a bit flappy before a gig but on this day, I had loads of time to get sorted and set up... until I heard the words 'This is our last song...' where I realised 2 hours had just disappeared and I was not as ready as I had anticipated. 😅 There were incredibly tight changeovers so there was no room for me to start later or faff so, I had a VERY flappy few minutes literally sprinting from stage to merch to the dressing room to get all the things I needed. The stage crew were exceptional and worked so hard all weekend to keep things running smoothly and, with thanks to them, family and friends, everything started smoothly and even a few minutes early; another win.
Trying to explain the gig will be tough, I'm sure I'll share more clips in the future as I'm not sure words will quite convey all of what happened but, in general, it was just... bonkers. The singalongs were so loud that at one point, I just had to stop and take it in with a big childish grin across my face. The whole crowd were incredible and I couldn't have had any more fun playing the show, no stress, no panic no little voices in my head telling me I'd got something wrong... it was just pure, unfiltered enjoyment. There were so many highlights and things I could talk about but let's be honest, I don't think anything could top the debut of the 'Siren Sisters'. I've being playing Pop Song less recently as it's not everyone's cup of tea and the joke probably wore off years ago but after a little chat about what song Hannah and Abbe (Sound of the SIrens) could join me for, this felt like the right one. I didn't know much about what they had planned or what they were going to look like so I had to try and maintain composure throughout the song (I was not successful). They had a few hours to come up with something together, 2 days before the show, and what they delivered was perfect and Pop Song will never be the same without them. Something else I recall is not being able to do the social pit, which threw me a bit; I've enjoyed playing around with that this summer so I was keen to do it during this set but when I tried to get people to make a circle, I noticed not much really happened and no one really moved... then it dawned on me, no one COULD move, I hadn't realised until then just how squashed in people were, it was mad. So, instead of a big circle, it turned into a tent wide party of people high fiving, hugging and connecting with each other, and it was truly wonderful to behold (then I got fomo and wanted to join in so I ended up running along the front barrier, high fiving people (see the video) like I was some kind of rockstar... I'm not sure I've ever felt so cool. 🤣) I heard some stories afterwards about some of interactions that happened during that bit of the show and they really made me smile. There are so many other things I could ramble on about but I'm only half way through the weekend. All I will say is that I have never felt so positively overwhelmed at a gig before than I did throughout that set. It will stay with me forever and I think it might have even topped my Big Top gig from a few years before, which I didn't think possible. Thank you to every single person who was part of it and a MASSIVE shout out to Han, Abbe and Woody for helping with Merch afterwards and everyone who queued up and came to chat after, and a massive thank you to those who've since sent me PayPal funds after the issues with the card reader. ❤️
Sunday was another jam packed day! First up, a cheeky little guest spot with the Doonicans, who played an incredible show, I've not seen them since the new line up and I was in stitches throughout. I loved writing a verse for 'Jump Araand' and being up there with everyone was a joy. That was then immediately followed by Sound of the Sirens who were on fire. Their Simon and Garfunkel introduction wasn't only hilarious but also such a good rendition of Sound of Silence. It was great to join them for The Voices again, which we haven't done together for ages, I always love being on stage with them both as it doesn't ever feel pressured or too serious but it's always just FUN. From there I ran over to the Bimble Inn for my secret acoustic set which was billed as 'Accusations Miscast' (it's a Samanagram!). I adore the Bimble Inn, to hang out in or to play, it's just a vibe and ethos I love and the gig was no exception. Well done to everyone for making it on time despite the time change from the program, apologies to those who assumed I'd said the wrong time on stage - you were right to doubt me, I'm just as surprised that I got it right! It was so different to the other gig; there was no real set list and no proper plan; I just played what I felt like at the time, things went in random directions, words fell out of my head and songs changed into other songs halfway through but at no point was I bothered or worried if a song didn't go 'perfectly' or if I forgot something because of how relaxed I feel in that space. It was also great to not play any repeats from the set the day before, meaning I got to dust off some songs I rarely ever play. To then finish off with the Sirens and a tent full of people singing Little Things was a perfect way to end the busiest but most wonderful weekend at Beautiful Days... before then having a child free night with Han that is far too blurry to recount so I won't even try!
So, all in all, I just want to say thank you, to every single person that played any roll in the weekend, from watching, supporting, chatting, pe***ng, helping, Sulli sitting, carrying or any other verb that I can't think of at the moment, I had the most incredible 4 days that I will be able to dip into for years to come should any clouds ever start to form. I hope everyone who went had an amazing weekend and, fingers crossed we'll be able to do it all again next year! I've had a few people message about Tshirts and the Think of a World artwork that they didn't manage to pick up, I have a some left and will happily send out without postage for those at BD's who didn't have time to queue etc, drop me a message. Now... back to reality, good luck! Love to everyone x
Beautiful Days! There will most certainly be a proper post about yesterday's gig coming soon but this is just to clarify the Accusations Miscast set is at 3 today, not 6 as it says on the program! ❤️
20/08/2026
Hello lovely folk. I found some old art prints and had an idea that I thought it would be a quick and easy thing to do, that would repurpose some old stock... I was wrong! 🤣 However, I do like how they've turned out. I trimmed the old prints down to 30x30cm which is a common frame size then spray painted the border back on, followed by two layers of spray paint for the slightly different sized stencils. (See the extra pics for some of the process!). I was planning to make all of them in time for Beautiful Days (I think there's about 50 - 70 old prints from my 3rd album crowdfunder, but after a week of trimming, spraying, cutting, re cutting, respraying and so on, I've managed to make 15 😅 so they're definitely made with love, (and frustration at points) I will have these at BDs on a first come first serve basis. Each one is unique, given the nature of how they were made! I will be making more in the future if they're well received though! I'll have them available after the Little Big Top set if anyone's keen! ❤️
18/08/2026
Beautiful Days! I am so excited for what's ahead. Not only will I be getting to play at the Little Big Top (Saturday 5.40) I will also be part of this panel, discussing ADHD and neurodivergence in the Rebel Tent. I am honoured to have been invited to take part and I know how much my brain/wiring, as annoying as it can be at times, is the only reason I've been able to find the life I have and do what I get to do. I am probably more nervous about this than the gig as I can't always control what my mouth says 😅
I'm not sure I'm going to be able to find quite the right words to describe the last few days but I'll do my best. Two gigs at two different festivals and both, for very different reasons, were incredible. First of all, Boom Town; not only is this festival like nothing else I've ever experienced, the lore, the design, the secrets, the creativity, the... dust 😅, the spectrum of music it manages to fit in and love that goes into it... I feel like I could spend a month there and still not get to see all it has to offer. This was a particularly special one for myself and Han as the last time I played, we decided to take a 6 month old human with us... I won't talk about that now, this is a positive space 😁 but this time, we had two days there with just the two of us, knowing Sulli was happy and loved, a good few hundred miles away. It was incredible, just to hang out without ANYTHING to do, it's a feeling I'd forgotten exists! I won't go into detail of the random shenanigans as a) there were far too many and b) they're all quite blurry... but I would like to say a unfathomable thank you to every single person who played a role in my gig on the Saturday. I was fully expecting it to be a fairly quiet affair with so much other incredible stuff happening at the same time but I was blown away by everyone who found their way to Foggers Mill (who are the only reason I got to be there in the first place and who are always so wonderful and kind, making both Han and I feel so welcome for the whole weekend - huge shout out to you all ❤️) The love in the room at the gig was superb to behold, not just from people being lovely in my direction but just looking out over the room and seeing so many happy faces and interactions. The social pit was the best I've seen yet, it's always so much fun to witness and I've loved every one but watching people connect, laugh, hug, high five and cross paths with new humans was truly a beautiful thing to watch, especially when there seems to be more and more division between people around the world at the moment. I adored every second of the gig and when I'm reminded this is basically a shift at work, it wrinkles my brain. I am so grateful that I even got to go to one of the greatest parties on the planet, let alone be play a show there too. Thank you, all. Then, as if that wasn't enough of a reason to be thankful to the Universe, on Sunday morning we packed up and ventured off to Dorset for Jurassic fields, both completely hanging but genuinely so excited to regroup with the little human when we got there. It was a very different festival experience but one I will treasure just as much, it was purely wholesome, family times... even with a fairly spicey toddler tantrum in the middle, but after 2 days off of parenting, even that felt easy to wade through. By the time it got to my set, the sleep deprivation from the previous two days was kicking in hard so I was a little worried I'd not be at my best but after stepping onto the stage the response from the audience was insane and I instantly felt lifted and completely reenergised. I had yet another incredible time performing to a tent full of smiling faces. There was, however, one face that particularly shone through and was the probably the absolute highlight of the entire weekend; I remember looking into the audience at one point and seeing Sulli sat on Hannah's shoulders with his little headphones on, staring at me with the BIGGEST grin on his face, the feeling I got was like nothing else, I don't actually know how to describe it, but I know I'll remember it forever. Fatherhood has definitely been hard but this basically felt like enough of a payoff for all of the parts I've struggled with. I had an amazing time performing and getting to chat to people at the end; big shout out to Han for helping with merch and Sulli for entertaining the people queue! This was truly a weekend where I've walked away feeling so lucky to be getting to do what I do, alongside the people I love. Thank you to everyone who played a part in this, whether booking me in the first place, being in the crowd, tweaking things on a desk, building and creating behind the scenes, or being 200 miles away with our tiny human...this was a very beautiful reminder of how good life can be at times so I owe you all. So much love x
11/08/2026
Well, I think this speaks for itself... maybe a quick trip to the necessary outlets if this one's on your to do list?! I am so excited for this tour.
"Edit* obviously I got the time wrong, it's meant to say half five! Admin is my kryptonite.
I am SO excited to be heading back to BOOMTOOOOOWN 😁🥳
5 years on from my favourite day, accompanied by the song that popped the question 😁❤️ Thanks for writing me into your story, Han x
Click here to claim your Sponsored Listing.