“If I got what I wanted, would I want the thing I got”

2025 has been a good year for Samia. A critically-adored new record this Spring, a viral breakout for one of her most devastating songs, “Pool,” this Summer, and a Fall that’s kicking off with headline dates across the US & UK, the announcement of her first ever stop at Coachella, and incredibly… a brand new song!

Recorded in Minneapolis only a few months after Bloodless sessions wrapped, “Cinder Block” finds Samia directly weaving a long-time love of legendary songwriter Leonard Cohen into her lyricism. Here, she interpolates two classics, “Suzzane” and “Hallelujah,” singing “I’ve touched your perfect body with my mind” and “this is my Hallelujah.” All over a gentle electric guitar strum that anchors a song swelling with tender persistence and patient intensity.

In other news, Samia was announced for next year’s Coachella – just the first of what is sure to be a busy festival season. She’s on the road right this minute – hit the artist page for tickets.

Samia continues to ride an insane wave of online attention from her gut-wrenching NPR Tiny Desk performance of The Baby album-opener “Pool.” There are quite literally hundreds of thousands of TikTok videos using the audio, and fans old and new have been asking for the Tiny Desk songs on streaming ever since the clip went viral in late July.

Today we mark the fifth anniversary of her debut record with the announcement a special digital-only edition featuring performances from the NPR Tiny Desk Concert (thanks to NPR Music for helping make this happen!), alongside previously-released artist covers and remixes from the likes of Bartees Strange, Palehound, Anjimile, Briston Maroney, Christian Lee Hutson and more from The Baby Reimagined.

The collection is out September 5th – pre-save here.

Samia on the success of “Pool” and the anniversary of The Baby: “Tiny Desk is like the GRAMMY’s to me – I still can’t believe they let me do that. I was struggling to stay conscious during the concert but it was the honor of a lifetime. The NPR version of ‘Pool’ resonating online is just a giant cartoon cherry on top. I’m still proud of ‘The Baby’ five years later and feel grateful that it’s meant something to some people.”

Late last month, a user on TikTok uploaded a snippet from Samia’s 2023 NPR Tiny Desk Concert. It was the heart-rending climax of the song “Pool,” the album opener from her 2020 debut The Baby. In a matter of days, the sound had been used over 15K times, SZA shared the performance on her IG story, and fans clamored for a stripped back version a’la the viral clip on streaming services.

Today, fans get exactly what they asked for, as Samia releases “Pool (Stripped),” a live-in-the-room re-record featuring an all star cast of her musician friends from Minneapolis and beyond: touring keyboardist Sam Calvoro, Bloodless tour opener Raffaella, bassist Lily Belle Govrik, and Hippo Campus’ Whistler Allen and Jake Luppen. The result somehow makes the heartbreak even harder…

Watch the original performance that started it all below.

And, if you haven’t already, grab your tickets to Samia’s upcoming US & UK headline shows – a lot of new people are discovering the world of Samia, so tickets are going fast.

Running a record label is the most rewarding on days like today, when months of hard work culminate in the release of something truly special. And special doesn’t even begin to describe Bloodless. Samia essentially began work on it the moment Honey was released in January 2023. She labored over song after song. Toiled in studios in Minneapolis & North Carolina. Agonized over every detail. What she eventually emerged with is a stunning thirteen track collection, woven together by a deep introspection about the nature of the self. Who are we? Do we even exist outside of the perceptions of others? Heavy material, made even more intriguing by the music paired with it. Working once again with Grand Jury compatriots Caleb Wright (Baby Boys) & Jake Luppen (Hippo Campus, Lupin & Baby Boys), the album is just as fluent in the language of folk or Americana as it is in hulking indie rock, finding ways to adorn both with darings textures and sonic adventurousness.

Like the already-classic line on “Proof” – “you don’t know me, bitch” – pigeon-hole Bloodless at your own risk.

But enough about how much we love this thing! Now you can listen. Today it’s everywhere. On streaming services. In record stores. Tomorrow it’s on tiny stages in the UK at a sold-out in-store tour. And next month it’s on massive stages across the US. Speaking of those stages, alongside the Tuesday release of album-highlight “Carousel,” Samia announced an entire second run of American tour dates this time alongside Hank Heaven & Renny Conti. See them all below, and get tix here.

Tour Dates:
04-25 – Brighton, UK – Resident SOLD OUT
04-26 – Bristol, UK – Rough Trade SOLD OUT
04-28 – Liverpool, UK – Rough Trade SOLD OUT
04-29 – Leeds, UK – Jumbo SOLD OUT
04-30 – Nottingham, UK – Rough Trade SOLD OUT
05-01 – London, UK – Rough Trade East [Matinee Show] SOLD OUT
05-01 – London, UK – Rough Trade East SOLD OUT
05-20 – Portland, ME – Portland House of Music SOLD OUT
05-21 – Boston, MA – House of Blues *
05-22 – Northampton, MA – Academy of Music *
05-24 – Toronto, ON – Opera House * LOW TIX
05-25 – Montreal, QC – Le Studio TD *
05-26 – Burlington, VT – Higher Ground *
05-28 – Philadelphia, PA – TLA * LOW TIX
05-30 – New York, NY – Brooklyn Steel *+ SOLD OUT
05-31 – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club * SOLD OUT
06-02 – Chicago, IL – Thalia Hall *
06-03 – Chicago, IL – Thalia Hall * SOLD OUT
06-05 – Milwaukee, WI – Turner Hall *
06-06 – Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue * LOW TIX
06-07 – Kansas City, MO – Truman * LOW TIX

++JUST ANNOUNCED++
09-08 – Atlanta, GA – Terminal West +
09-09 – Birmingham, AL – Saturn +
09-11 – Dallas, TX – Echo +
09-12 – Austin, TX – Scoot Inn +
09-13 – Houston, TX – Heights +
09-16 – Phoenix, AZ – Crescent +
09-17 – San Diego, CA – Music Box +
09-19 – Los Angeles, CA – Fonda +^
09-20 – San Francisco, CA – Fillmore ^
09-22 – Portland, OR – Wonder Ballroom ^
09-23 – Vancouver, BC – Hollywood ^
09-24 – Seattle, WA – Neptune ^
09-26 – Salt Lake City, UT – Soundwell ^
09-27 – Denver, CO – Ogden ^
09-29 – Omaha, NE – Waiting Room ^
09-30 – St. Louis, MO – Delmar Hall ^
10-01 – Nashville, TN – Brooklyn Bowl ^
* w/Raffaella
+ w/ Hank Heaven
^ w/ Renny Conti

The limited Blood Red Deluxe Edition 12″ including an 8-page lyric booklet is available for claiming now over on the GJ Bandcamp. Less than 40 copies remain. An even more limited Bone Deluxe Edition 12″ including lyric booklet just went up today over there too. Clear Smoke indie retail exclusive 12″ is available at your local record store, and maaaaaybe there may be a few left of the Bloodshot Rough Trade exclusive 12″. Links below.

There’s only one more month to wait for Bloodless, the daring new album from Samia. We’ve already heard previews in the form of “Bovine Excision” and “Lizard,” and today she shares two more tracks off of the forthcoming album. “Hole in a Frame,” inspired by Sid Vicious punching a wall at Cain’s Ballroom in 1978 (premiered this morning via Matt Wilkinson on Apple Music 1, and the 7-minute stunner “Pants” are both out today alongside visualizers by Sarah Ritter, with the “Pants” video starring actor Fred Hechinger, who you may know from White Lotus, Nickel Boys, and Gladiator II.

“I paired these tracks because they capture opposite instincts,” says Samia. “‘Hole in a Frame’ is about a fascination with disappearing and the power of absence. ‘Pants’ is about accepting a non-refundable self, social contexts and all. They move from a comfort in the possibilities of emptiness to the reality of existence.”

The new singles also arrive alongside the first in-depth feature on Samia’s Bloodless. Rolling Stone praises the “bold” new album and dives deep on both singles and the making of the album here.

Last month Samia announced a string of headline dates in support of Bloodless, along with a series of in-stores in the UK around release which are nearly all sold out. Tickets available now.

04-25 – Brighton, UK – Resident SOLD OUT
04-26 – Bristol, UK – Rough Trade SOLD OUT
04-28 – Liverpool, UK – Rough Trade
04-29 – Leeds, UK – Jumbo
04-30 – Nottingham, UK – Rough Trade
05-01 – London, UK – Rough Trade East [Matinee Show]
05-01 – London, UK – Rough Trade East SOLD OUT
05-20 – Portland, ME – Portland House of Music * LOW tIX
05-21 – Boston, MA – House of Blues *
05-22 – Northampton, MA – Academy of Music *
05-24 – Toronto, ON – Opera House *
05-25 – Montreal, QC – Le Studio TD *
05-26 – Burlington, VT – Higher Ground *
05-28 – Philadelphia, PA – TLA *
05-30 – New York, NY – Brooklyn Steel * LOW TIX
05-31 – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club * LOW TIX
06-02 – Chicago, IL – Thalia Hall *
06-03 – Chicago, IL – Thalia Hall * LOW TIX
06-05 – Milwaukee, WI – Turner Hall *
06-06 – Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue *
06-07 – Kansas City, MO – Truman *
* w/Raffaella

The limited Blood Red Deluxe Edition 12″ including an 8-page lyric booklet is available for claiming now over on the GJ Bandcamp. Clear Smoke indie retail exclusive 12″ and Bloodshot Rough Trade exclusive 12″ available too. Links below.

Samia continues her march toward Bloodless‘ April 25th release date with the new single “Lizard.” Following the haunting indie folk of “Bovine Excision,” “Lizard” trades in some of the back porch charm for blinding-bright melody and teetering synths. “It’s painful to stay present, to exist as a real, flesh-and-blood person at a party,” says Samia of the new track,” after existing comfortably as a myth or a memory. And it was even more painful to try not to ruin a party I’d already ruined.”

Alongside the new single, Samia has announced a North American tour today. General on-sale begins Friday at 10am locally HERE – see below to find a show near you.

04-25 – Brighton, UK – Resident
04-26 – Bristol, UK – Rough Trade
04-28 – Liverpool, UK – Rough Trade
04-29 – Leeds, UK – Jumbo
04-30 – Nottingham, UK – Rough Trade
05-01 – London, UK – Rough Trade East [Matinee Show]
05-01 – London, UK – Rough Trade East SOLD OUT
05-20 – Portland, ME – Portland House of Music *
05-21 – Boston, MA – House of Blues *
05-22 – Northampton, MA – Academy of Music *
05-24 – Toronto, ON – Opera House *
05-25 – Montreal, QC – Le Studio TD *
05-26 – Burlington, VT – Higher Ground *
05-28 – Philadelphia, PA – TLA *
05-30 – New York, NY – Brooklyn Steel *
05-31 – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club *
06-03 – Chicago, IL – Thalia Hall *
06-05 – Milwaukee, WI – Turner Hall *
06-06 – Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue *
06-07 – Kansas City, MO – Truman *
* w/Raffaella

The limited Blood Red Deluxe Edition 12″ including an 8-page lyric booklet is available for claiming now over on the GJ Bandcamp. Clear Smoke indie retail exclusive 12″ and Bloodshot Rough Trade exclusive 12″ available too. Links below.

Finally!

Today Samia announces her breathtaking third album, Bloodless, the follow-up to her 2023 breakout and award-winning record Honey. Recorded in North Carolina and her new home of Minneapolis, Bloodless is a richly layered album that was made with longtime collaborators co-producers (our longtime buds) Caleb Wright and Jake Luppen.

“It’s easier to be what someone wants you to be if you give as little as possible,” says Samia. With Bloodless, she seeks comfort in absence, and explores the allure of existing as fantasy. Drawing inspiration from unsolved mysteries – inexplicable cattle mutilations, the presence of God, the impossibility of femininity – Samia examines how shadows can loom larger than their source. “I noticed a pattern in my life of wanting to live up to the person I became in someone’s head; you become a lot bigger with distance.” Bloodless, which shifts seamlessly from sparse folk to sweeping indie-pop epics, adorned with haunting harmonies and spectral imagery, seeks a path through that space between void and flesh-and-blood presence. Samia would like to be both, to be whole, to be impossible.

Pre-order Bloodless, out April 25th via Grand Jury, now.

She repeats that sentiment – “I want to be impossible” – throughout the chorus of Bloodless’ lead single and eerie opening track “Bovine Excision.” The long-awaited fan favorite and live show staple is out today alongside the announcement of Bloodless. Inspired by the mysterious phenomenon involving the bloodless surgical removal of cattle organs, “Bovine Excision” finds Samia’s voice flowing through evocative lyrics with ease, alongside the gentle strum of a lone acoustic guitar. The quiet intimacy builds into a storm of sound, culminating in Samia’s layered, ethereal harmonies that pierce with a haunting, macabre refrain that reveals the album title: “And drained, drained bloodless.”

“I was drawn to the phenomenon of bloodless cattle mutilation as a metaphor for self-extraction – this clinical pursuit of emptiness,” Samia explains of “Bovine Excision.” These emptied cattle evoke a grotesque vessel that Samia unwittingly nurtured in an attempt to embody something both untouchable and on display, overflowing with infinite, unattainable possibilities and projections. This is just one strand Samia weaves into the intricate tapestry of Bloodless.

Bloodless Tracklist:
01 Biscuits Intro
02 Bovine Excision
03 Hole In A Frame
04 Lizard
05 Dare
06 Fair Game
07 Spine Oil
08 Craziest Person
09 Sacred
10 Carousel
11 Proof
12 North Poles
13 Pants

There are plenty of touring plans on the horizon (more on that soon), but in the meantime Samia has announced a series of instore performances in the UK around the album’s release.

Apr 25 • Brighton – Resident
Apr 26 • Bristol – Rough Trade
Apr 28 • Liverpool – Rough Trade
Apr 29 • Leeds – Jumbo
Apr 30 • Nottingham – Rough Trade
May 1 • London – Rough Trade East

This year marks 10 years in business for Grand Jury Music.

For seven of those years, Samia has been releasing music via our little record label. To celebrate the anniversary, we’ve asked a few artists new and old across the roster to cover their favorite songs from the catalog.

When approached, Samia immediately selected “Making Breakfast” from Twin Peaks’ touchstone 2014 release, Wild Onion. It was the first release on Grand Jury, and officially turns 10 this August.

“Wild Onion was like a lightning strike of a record,” says Samia. “And Making Breakfast is just a perfectly-written song, painfully simple and effortlessly cool…I hope we did it justice.”

There’ll be more decade-capping celebrations to come later this year. In the meantime, catch Samia on the road opening for Bleachers beginning later this week.

Font Page Photo Credit: Pooneh Ghana

Today Samia enlists the help of Ruston Kelly for his rendition of “Dream Song,” the latest addition to the Honey Reimagined Single Series – the gorgeously simple take on the album closer joins past installments from Hovvdy, Maya Hawke & Blondshell.

In other cover news, Samia recently stopped by Maida Vale studios while touring the UK to perform a BBC Radio 1 session for Jack Saunders. While there she mashed up her Baby album-opener Pool with Lana Del Rey’s classic breakthrough “Video Games.” The results are immaculate, and you can listen to that (and the rest of the session) right here.

This weekend Samia will be opening a sold out Boygenius show at the Mann in Philly, before hitting All Things Go festival then embarking on a run of support dates for the universe’s current favorite singer-songwriter Noah Kahan. In the middle of all that, she also might be filming a little something special at a tiny desk somewhere…

Stay tuned.

The third installment in the Honey Reimagined Single Series arrives today in the form of a bedroom pop reinvention of Samia’s “To Me It Was” by Hovvdy.

Samia shares: “‘To Me It Was’ is one of a few songs on Honey that existed in a bunch of different iterations before its final form. I wrote it with Christian Lee Hutson a year before we started making the record. We both played separate versions live in our sets a few times. When I first started playing it out it was this big rave up of a rock song. In the studio and in the context of the record the song just made more sense stripped down, with this really warm back porch feeling. Hovvdy turning it into a bedroom pop song feels exactly right – the perfect middle ground.”