While Sam Smith might not sing and write the type of music I usually cover here at TVD, I am making an exception for an exceptional talent. I was fortunate enough to catch Smith during a recent trip to Boston where he kicked off his US tour. This UK crooner is quite close to being the hottest ticket on the planet as he has quickly gone from buzzworthy crossover artist to full-on global superstar.
For those who somehow don’t know this phenomenon, Sam Smith is a soul singer/songwriter who rose to fame two years ago when he was featured on Disclosure’s breakthrough single “Latch.” Earlier this year his debut album, In the Lonely Hour was released and has so far moved over two million units. That is unheard of in this day and age of streaming and single downloads.
Smith wears his influences on his sleeve often recalling Whitney Houston and Amy Winehouse, but I would say he’s much closer to a male version of Adele with a touch of classic, hipster soul. Smith took to the stage at the sold out House of Blues in Boston walking into an array of brilliant white lights. The look on his face was a mix of confidence and appreciation—confident that he was truly coming into his own and appreciative for the crowd who would hang on every single note from that point forward.
His five-piece band wasn’t over the top, even though they were on staggered platforms, but combined with three backup singers it was just enough to put on a show that could rival any modern touring rhythm and blues ensemble, or even set the standard.
The true standouts of the evening were the opening number “Nirvana” and song called “Leave Your Lover” that could easily be covered by any indie singer/songwriter and turned into a hipster anthem. (Hint hint.) Think of Ray Lamontagne crossed with Aaron Neville—this is brilliant stuff, folks.
The show stopper of the night was of course the epic “Stay With Me” which closed out the night. The crowd was basically speechless and I have to say that I was stunned that anyone could sing this well all night long and then close out with perfection.
Bottom line: brilliant UK soul infused singer songwriter and his debut is available on vinyl. It sounds fantastic. If you can get a ticket, go see this one, folks.
Check out higher res photos from the show in the gallery here.
