STORY & LESSON HIGHLIGHTS WITH SAM LOUIS OF TORONTO
Recently, we had the chance to connect with Bold Journey and discuss some highlights of my journey so far. Read some excerpts below!
“STORY & LESSON HIGHLIGHTS WITH SAM LOUIS OF TORONTO” - BOLD JOURNEY
Sam, so good to connect and we’re excited to share your story and insights with our audience. There’s a ton to learn from your story, but let’s start with a warm up before we get into the heart of the interview. What is something outside of work that is bringing you joy lately?
There’s only a few things that can pull me away from my music, whether it be teaching, gaming or working out but cooking really has become meditative for me at this point haha. Playing around with different spices and cultures it’s very similar to making music. Meal prep is like the bane of my existence so any chance to create something new and experiment with food really lights me up.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Originally hailing from the northwestern Ontario city of Thunder Bay, I fell in love with music playing shows around town in my pop/punk band before making the jump to Toronto to pursue a full-time career. I attended Humber College for their Contemporary Music Degree Program and worked with some outstanding international artists. Greg Wells (Adele), Rik Emmett (Triumph), Ian Terry (Celine Dion) and Denzel Sinclaire (Diana Krall) we’re some of the most impactful professors and mentors. I’ve also had the opportunity to work and songwrite with London based producer/songwriter/programmer James Sanger (Madonna, U2, Phil Collins) and have rehearsed and worked with Toronto based musician/producer/songwriter Alan Shiner (Pizza Pizza, Coca Cola, Mariah Carey and Drake). In 2017 I was recognized by the Toronto Independent Music Awards, being nominated in the Best Pop Artist category. Later that year I also won an Indigenous Music award for Best Pop Album through 3 collaborations with my good friend Joshua De Perry (Classic Roots). I recently had a chance to work with Classic again this year for our new track NEXUS which is out now and features possibly some of my favourite lyrics to date. In 2018 I recorded and released my 7 song ep Hallelujah Nights under engineer Kevin O’Leary (Tragically Hip, Shawn Mendes, Billy Talent, The Glorious Sons, Walk Off The Earth). A year later I released my first streaming single, This Love produced by Los Angeles’ Shayan Amiri (A-Major, Andy Boy). This Love has been streamed over 170k times and the acoustic version has 70k views on Youtube.
During the pandemic I wrote a song that would change everything, called Driftin’. Released on April 2nd this new record was one of my most personal and successful songs. Driftin’ got featured in multiple editorial playlists such as Spotify’s New Music Friday and It’s a Bop, YouTube’s “Pop Before it Breaks” & Amazon’s “Brand New Music. Surpassing 10k streams in its first week on Spotify alone, it later went on to become my first song with over 1.5 million streams.
Following up on Driftin’ success I made the jump to LA where I worked with Andre Mohring (Big Sean, Baby Keem) on my next records. My song “No More Running” won and received honourable mention in the UNSIGNED ONLY competition for the ROCK and AAA categories, also leading me to sign my first publishing deal with New York’s TRO Essex (The Who, Black Sabbath). This helped catalyze my songwriting and pushed me to stay in LA and write and record my first full length album 8 Ball. This album was a defining moment in my artistry showcasing a darker and more emotional tone while still keeping the energy of my music. 8 Ball which was featured in BILLBOARD, SPIN Magazine, Music Connection and Rotate This as an emotional odyssey for the generations. After the release we got to tour the album at festivals all over the world, Indie Week in New York, SXSW in London, England and CMW in Toronto. Getting to share this music with so many more people was a feeling that I have been waiting for my whole life and I can’t wait to continue with my next record coming out in 2026.
Okay, so here’s a deep one: Who taught you the most about work?
My nonno Luigi. He was the hardest working man I know, he came to Canada from Italy to start his family. He was an incredible mandolin player and decided to create a family band to make money. The family band was so successful back home in my city Thunder Bay that my nonno was able to have constant work. Their popularity was overwhelming, getting booked 4 nights a week playing late hours with my mom on bass. My nonno would always talk about how his brothers we’re lawyers, engineers and doctors but he would always say “no matter what career you choose do it with all your heart and do it the best”.