Samia Makes The Most of Her Time in Portland

Samia has recently been on a North American tour, which is filled with dancing, laughter, kindness, and love. Samia made this hour and a half experience fulfilling and entertaining. With her soft and lovely voice mixed with her humorous, intimate, and metaphorical lyrics.  She sang numerous songs from her debut album, The Baby, and a couple of songs from her EP that features Jelani Aryeh, Scout. Charlie Hickey opened, and he made the experience of this concert that much better. Although it was an intimate venue, his sound, songs, and lyrics, truly made it feel as though you were watching a close friend perform. Samia, Charlie Hickey, and their band created an amusing and fun-loving event, there was an obvious connection and love between the audience and the performer. 

Charlie Hickey began the concert, where he sang songs from his EP, Count The Stairs, which is exquisite for the small number of songs on it. Hickey has an enchanting voice and creates abstract images in the listener’s mind, his lyrics are vulnerable and powerful. You could feel Charlie Hickey’s kind soul as he sang and spoke to the audience. Samia joined him on one of the songs, before her performance which was a glimpse into the show that she would put on. “Two Haunted Houses,” was a song that stood out to me the most during his performance, it was heartfelt and personal. Hickey ended his performance with the song, “Ten Feet Tall,” which was a perfect closer to the act. “Everybody looks so happy / Everybody here is beautiful,” were the outstanding lyrics that stood out during this song, as it felt as though he was truly singing to the audience. 

Samia began her performance with the first song off of her album, The Baby, which is the soft and mesmerizing song “Pool.” This song explains Samia’s fear of the future as certain moments may feel too good to be true. It was a mellow start to her concert, but then quickly switched shifts as she began her song “Fit N’ Full,” which is much more danceable. As Samia sang she danced, and got the whole crowd involved, she was fun and unique. The lyrics read, “If I want to, I could take it off / Show you what my mama gave me,” and that is exactly what she did, showing us what her mama gave her. Samia sang many more fun and danceable songs as the show progressed such as, “Big Wheel,” which talks about her fear of conflict, and “Limbo B*tch,” which is a song about portraying yourself as confident and independent, it’s an amusing and witty song, and she put on an amazing show while performing it. 

Samia’s set features a handful of emotional peaks, “As You Are,” “Triptych,” “Waverly,” and “Is There Something in The Movies?” although all of these songs are highly emotional and intense, Samia still made a hopeful environment within the crowd. “As You Are,” was one of the best songs played during her performance, it’s about accepting your loved one’s authentic self. As she sang this song, you could feel the warmth within the crowd, as there were friends, partners, and family members hugging, holding hands, and expressing their love for each other while listening to the song. “Triptych,” was first played during her supporting setlist on her tour with Donna Missel, and was played as an unreleased song. She wrote this song on tour while she was upset about a recent breakup, it is an intense song with a lot of emotion within it. This song itself has an emotional peak and near the end, it becomes quieter and more melancholic. I’m sure everyone in the crowd would agree that Samia’s emotions were felt by everyone in the crowd. “Is There Something in The Movies,” was one of the last songs played during Samia’s set. It is the softest song played during her performance, which touches on Samia’s heartbreak and disenchantment with the entertainment industry. She touches on the disillusion of legacy in the entertainment industry, “So here, now you’re deathless in art / You’ve got this and the movies and also my love,” which shows how many are remembered by their art and the things they made, not as a person who was admired and trusted for who they really were. Because this is Samia’s most popular song, the whole crowd joined her in singing the lyrics together. 

Samia put on both an emotional and intense show as well as fun and heartwarming. She danced, and laughed, but also sang exceptional songs that were dark and smooth, filled with deep emotions. She put on an enjoyable show that got the crowd involved and hopeful. She had a kind aura, that one could feel throughout the entirety of the show. It is exciting to watch Samia grow and see the new music she will release in later years. Although the venue she went to while in Portland was small, it would be no surprise if she quickly became one of the bigger artists in the indie-pop scene. She is loveable, quirky, and pure. The last song she sang following the encore was a duet of the song, “Show Up” with the opener, Charlie Hickey. They end their performance with the lyrics, “Nothing could ever stop my ass from showing up / To sing another song for the people I love.” It was obvious the effort she put in to make everyone in the crowd feel like they were known and seen by her, you could feel the timeless love that she had for her fans. It was a beautiful way to end her time in Portland, and I cannot wait to see her when she returns.