Artist Spotlight: Sam Lewis
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Tuesday, March 23, 2027 at 8:00 PM (doors 7:30 PM)
Free show. Nonperishable donations accepted for Food Gatherers.
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 labeled with some form of the word 'soulful' (some have even compared his voice to molasses), and 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, 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. He released his self-titled debut in 2012. His sophomore release WAITING ON YOU (2015) features an impressive list of Nashville notables, all placing their stamp on this enduring expression of uncompromised songwriting.
His third studio release LOVERSITY (2018) 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." SOLO (2020) is a solo-acoustic album recorded at Southern Ground Studios in Nashville in front of a live audience that captures Lewis in his element. HARLEY KIMBRO LEWIS (2022) is a trans-Atlantic collaboration with England's Martin Harley and East Tennessee all-star Daniel Kimbro, featuring all-original material recorded in Nashville. SUPERPOSITION (2024) fuses Americana undertones with hazy, dream-like melodies and psychedelic instrumental flourishes, with eight atmospheric originals alongside a unique take on Dire Straits' 'Walk of Life.'
EVERYTHING'S FINE (2026) is Lewis's 7th studio album, a more sparse and intimate approach filled with songs that live under an umbrella titled 'Everything's Fine,' which Lewis says "is kind of a blanket statement I have become obsessed with for a while now...I love its duality and its usage whether it's regarding the micro or macro of life...maybe everything's fine, maybe it's not, maybe it's 'fine' in the macro sense but not at all in the micro sense or vice versa. I am definitely guilty of using it to define situations that are in fact NOT 'fine'. We all have different thresholds of what may or may not be 'fine' but our unwillingness to accept discourse can lead to a further sense of disconnection if not properly addressed. 'Everything's Fine' is the most appropriate statement for the world I find myself living in at the moment."
While each album has a distinct sound, they all circle back to one universal theme, something you'll hear Lewis preach to his audience: "We are all trying to get somewhere, all running from something or toward something; we're all in it together, though."
The Ark's Artist Spotlight Series is made possible with support from Ford Philanthropy. It is presented live and also livestreamed on The Ark's Facebook page and YouTube channel.
Free show. Nonperishable donations accepted for Food Gatherers.
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 labeled with some form of the word 'soulful' (some have even compared his voice to molasses), and 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, 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. He released his self-titled debut in 2012. His sophomore release WAITING ON YOU (2015) features an impressive list of Nashville notables, all placing their stamp on this enduring expression of uncompromised songwriting.
His third studio release LOVERSITY (2018) 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." SOLO (2020) is a solo-acoustic album recorded at Southern Ground Studios in Nashville in front of a live audience that captures Lewis in his element. HARLEY KIMBRO LEWIS (2022) is a trans-Atlantic collaboration with England's Martin Harley and East Tennessee all-star Daniel Kimbro, featuring all-original material recorded in Nashville. SUPERPOSITION (2024) fuses Americana undertones with hazy, dream-like melodies and psychedelic instrumental flourishes, with eight atmospheric originals alongside a unique take on Dire Straits' 'Walk of Life.'
EVERYTHING'S FINE (2026) is Lewis's 7th studio album, a more sparse and intimate approach filled with songs that live under an umbrella titled 'Everything's Fine,' which Lewis says "is kind of a blanket statement I have become obsessed with for a while now...I love its duality and its usage whether it's regarding the micro or macro of life...maybe everything's fine, maybe it's not, maybe it's 'fine' in the macro sense but not at all in the micro sense or vice versa. I am definitely guilty of using it to define situations that are in fact NOT 'fine'. We all have different thresholds of what may or may not be 'fine' but our unwillingness to accept discourse can lead to a further sense of disconnection if not properly addressed. 'Everything's Fine' is the most appropriate statement for the world I find myself living in at the moment."
While each album has a distinct sound, they all circle back to one universal theme, something you'll hear Lewis preach to his audience: "We are all trying to get somewhere, all running from something or toward something; we're all in it together, though."
The Ark's Artist Spotlight Series is made possible with support from Ford Philanthropy. It is presented live and also livestreamed on The Ark's Facebook page and YouTube channel.
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316 S Main St, Ann Arbor, MI, United States, Michigan 48104
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Host or PublisherThe Ark - Ann Arbor
