Rising Stars: Meet Sami Jo of Nashville

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sami Jo

Hi Sami, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I grew up in Redding, a Northern California town, and there has never been a time where I wasn’t thinking about writing. Whether it was short stories, poems, songs, or even overly thought out notes secretly passed in class, I was always passionate about writing creative thoughts and ideas. When I discovered the guitar and songwriting in high school, I knew that my future was going to forever revolve around music. After booking myself countless live shows on a weekly basis throughout high school and college, I packed up my 2-door Honda and moved to the only city I had ever considered leaving my hometown for, Nashville, TN. I continued booking and playing live shows every weekend, networked at lots of writers rounds, and quickly learned about the music industry. After 5 years, I made the leap to quit my full-time job and pursue music completely. It was then that I founded the weekly writers round “Sams Jams” at the Virgin Hotels on the legendary Music Row – an all original round featuring a different theme each week. After 3 years of networking and promoting, “Sams Jams” has become a platform for nearly 800 artists each year to share their original music with consistent crowds of industry professionals. In addition to this, I started the world’s only all girl Beatles tribute band, “Penny Lane,” and toured the United States and Europe, at venues like the Cavern Club Liverpool, Troubadour London, and The Grand Social in Dublin, all in the name of music.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The Nashville music industry is one of constant struggles, solely because there is no universal blueprint leading you to a successful career. Everybody here has a different story and a different path to success. For me, I have sometimes struggled with pinpointing my focus. I have so many ideas and desires and my character flaw is that I think I can do them all, when in reality there are only 24 hours in the day (and you apparently have to sleep for like 6 of them). That being said, my ideas all fall somewhere in the same creative realm of music and writing, so it’s still a smooth road for me, as I know this will always be a part of my life regardless of my circumstances.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
First and foremost, I am a writer. I am most proud of the songs I wrote that came from my heart. I love to co-write with other artists and writers who share a passion for music. I am a very introspective writer, so often times in a writing session, I have to put myself into the song to feel the emotion. As a writer’s round host, I specialize in connecting other artists together and take pride in helping these incredibly talented artists share their music in a live concert setting. A lot of them are new to town, and don’t have a network yet, so I enjoy matching them with other similar writers in the same round. I’ve had several artists tell me they have written with people they met at Sams Jams, and that Sams Jams has felt like the most welcoming writers round they’ve played.

What do you like and dislike about the city?
I love the camaraderie among like-minded singer/songwriters. I love that this city is filled with passion, creativity, and drive. I love meeting people who are enthusiastic about anything, whether it’s music related or not. I love that there is so much talent everywhere you turn and that it can inspire you to want to be even better.
There’s not a lot for me to complain about Nashville. It’s a great city. I guess if you want to get picky, l’d say I wish there were more venues that could pay singer/songwriters a decent amount. As a writer there are only so many places you can play – and we all know original music and Broadway aren’t exactly a love match. Álso, potholes…we gotta do something about those!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.samijosongs.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samijosongs
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/samijosongs
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/samijosongs
• Other: https://www.pennylanenashville.com