Nashville-based country-soul-blues singer-songwriter Sam
Lewis announces London dates in March -
the Green Note on Wednesday March 6,
and two shows at C2C– Country To Country at The
02 Arena, Big Entrance Stage on Friday
March 8 and Saturday March 9, in support of
acclaimed new album Loversity
Release Date: May 4, 2018
Label: Sam Lewis / Tone Tree Music
14 Tracks
Total Length: 1:00:27
Genres: Pop / Singer-Songwriters
“Loversity
is a timely reminder that diversity and unity can co-exist.” - Blues
Matters!
“Superb
soulful album from rising Nashville star...Loversity is beautifully played,
produced and felt - and likely to stand as one of early 2019’s most
talked-about albums.” - Country Music magazine (4
stars)
“Elements
of groove, soul and blues makes this a definite crowd-pleaser that will remind
you of the classics whilst keeping you in the now.” - Maverick (4
stars)
“Lewis
proves he’s a talent to be reckoned with.” - No
Depression
TOURING UK FEBRUARY - MARCH
2019
Like many before him, Sam
Lewis came to Nashville to make music. But unlike the majority, Lewis
managed to hop on one of the most successful tours that country music has seen
as of late. He’s collaborated with everyone from John Prine and Kacey Musgraves
to The Wood Brothers. Chris Stapleton dubbed him “a
modern Townes Van Zandt”. And while he’s often labelled with some form of
the word ‘soulful’ (some have even compared his voice to molasses), Lewis’
style meets at a juncture of many different genres. There’s something about Sam
Lewis that is indescribably different - and with his newest project, he’s
discovered what most musicians spend lifetimes working for - the place where
feel-good music meets vital social commentary.
When Lewis decided to make the move
from Knoxville to Nashville in summer 2009, he was still working full-time at
Walmart (a gig that lasted nearly a decade). In his off-time, he began playing
smaller local venues including the 5 Spot, where he met fellow
singer-songwriter Matt Urmy. After forming a friendship, Urmy offered to help
Lewis “We went to his basement, I laid down some songs, we pieced a
band together and made a record in a couple days at Eastwood Studios.” That
record would become Lewis’s first official release and self-titled debut that
featured Nashville greats Kenny Vaughan, Reggie Bradley Smith, Dave Jacques,
and Derek Mixon. And with Lewis’ sole intention of moving to be a musician that
‘records it and tours it’ - he did just that - travelling from Nashville to New
York via train to play shows, then spending a month in England.
By late 2014, Lewis had turned 30,
established himself with the Nashville music scene, and signed with the
boutique Georgia label, Brash Records. With the help of Brash and producer
Oliver Wood of The Wood Brothers, Lewis released his second full length, Waiting
on You, in April 2015. The album was critically acclaimed and once again
featured Kenny Vaughan, in addition to Darrell Scott, Gabe Dixon, the McCrary
Sisters, and Willie Nelson’s legendary harmonica player, Mickey Raphael.
While No Depression compared Lewis’ soulful style with the
likes of Al Green and Van Morrison, Craig Havighurst (Music
City Roots) coined Waiting on You as “Americana with a
groovy twist”. While the album racked in incredible reviews, Lewis’ booking
agency also got bought out in the same time frame - unfortunately leaving him
with a solid album, but no tour dates to show for it.
Watch Sam
Lewis talk to CountryLive at
Americanafest UK about his latest album 'Loversity', playing alongside Chris
Stapleton, plans to return to Europe with a tour and more. Duration: 8 min CLICK HERE
Lewis applied to work at a Post
Office in East Nashville but by the time he got a call for a second interview,
someone else had called with a more enticing offer: the opening spot for
the Traveler release show, Chris
Stapleton’s Grammy-winning album. From there, life moved fast. Lewis toured
with Stapleton for the remainder of summer 2015, and by January 2016, found
himself playing sold-out 2 and 3-night shows at venues like The Tabernacle and
the Ryman Auditorium.
Lewis’ forthcoming record Loversity was
set to release in the UK & Ireland on January 18 2019. The album is
composed of 14 tracks that Lewis has spent over a year and a half writing and
playing for others. Since Waiting on You, his classic style remains
present yet matured, with a more refined worldview, “These newer songs
have been harder to write, but extremely necessary given the current climate I
find the world in.” Recorded at Southern Ground Studios with
engineer and co-producer Brandon Bell, the album spans from upbeat
songs like the title track ‘Loversity’ to the darker ‘One in the Same’, an
electric guitar heavy ballad with a driving force reminiscent of the Black
Keys’ Brothers. While most songs are originals, the record includes
‘Accidental Harmony’, a lullaby that fellow Nashville songwriter John
Mann wrote for his first born child, and ‘Natural Disaster’, a Loudon
Wainwright song that Lewis felt drawn to.
And while each song varies in tone,
they all circle back to one universal theme. “This is the closest thing
I’ll ever write to a concept album. The idea is that we are all trying to get
somewhere - all running from something and toward something. We’re all together
in it, though.” As current events in the world divide the masses based
on difference, Sam Lewis’ new album is a soul-filled, catchy collection of
reminders that diversity and unity can co-exist.
SAM LEWIS · UK TOUR
FEBRUARY
Thurs 28 February 2019 - The Castle, Manchester (The Castle Hotel, 66 Oldham Street, M4 1LE)
MARCH
Fri 1 March 2019 - Live Theatre, Newcastle upon Tyne (Broad Chare, Quayside NE1 3DQ
Sat 2 March 2019 - The Glad Cafe, Glasgow (1006a Pollokshaws Road, Shawlands, Lanarkshire G41 2HG)
Tue 5 March 2019 - Junction 2, Cambridge (Clifton Way, CB1 7GX)
Wed 6 March 2019 - The Green Note, London (106 Parkway, London NW1 7AN) + Special Guest Martin
Harley Event £12
Fri 8 March 2019 – London, C2C Country To Country 2019, The 02 Arena, Big Entrance Stage (due on at 15:20) FREE STAGE
Sat 9 March 2019 – London, C2C Country To Country 2019, The 02 Arena, Big Entrance Stage (due on at 13:10) FREE STAGE
FEBRUARY
Fri 1 Ashford: Revelation Ashford, St. Mary’s Church
Sun 3 Kingskerswell: Devon Kingskerswell Parish Church
Tue 5 Swansea: Sin City
Wed 6 Bangor: North Wales Blue Sky Café
Thu 7 Shrewsbury: Henry Tudor House
Fri 8: Sunderland: Independent
Sun 10 Barry: Hang Fire Southern Kitchen
Wed 13 Norwich: The Waterfront Studio
Thu 14 Melbourne: nr. Derby: Melbourne Assembly Rooms
Fri 15 Colston Bassett: Notts. Colston Bassett Village Hall
Sat 16 Barton-under-Needwood: Staffs. Barton-under-Needwood Village Hall
Sun 17 Crowland: Lincs. Crowland Abbey
Wed 20 Grayshott: Applegarth Farm
Thu 21 Cricklade: Wilts. The Old Stables
Fri 22 Glastonbury: Hawthorns
Sat 23 Leeds: Seven Arts
JANUARY
Wed 30 London: Paper Dress Vintage AmericanaFest UK showcase
Thu 31 Bristol: The Louisiana
Release Date: 20 April 2015
Total Length: 45:53
Genres: Country/ Pop
Praise for Sam Lewis’ Waiting on You (2015)
“A wonderful album ...among
the very best bluesmen I’ve ever heard.” - Frank Hennessy, Celtic
Heartbeat, BBC Radio Wales
“Irresistible…easy-going
blend of soul, country and blues” - The Blues Magazine (8/10)
“The first thing that
strikes you about Sam Lewis is the voice, a laid back sound that evokes cream
sliding over black coffee, dark bourbon rippling over ice, whatever images it
evokes it’s supremely soulful and deeply affecting. Simple as that.” FolkWords
“Everything sounds effortless and completely natural, particularly Lewis’s
voice, and the results are perfect for a Sunday morning coming down.” - Maverick (3.5
stars)
“The easy groove, and warm, effortless, gravel-edged voice reel you in from
the very start… he sounds from another time, or timeless. Either way, good.” - Mojo (4 stars)
“…warm and classy…if you’re in the mood for mellow, Waiting on You is a
most agreeable prospect” - R2 (4 stars)
“…must rank as one of the
most compelling singer-songwriter packages that I've come across in many a long
year, with Sam's supremely soulful country croon often strangely reminiscent of
"Self Portrait" era Dylan” - Yorkshire Evening Post
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