Rough Trade Bristol, March 20th 2022
From regularly busking in Brighton and independently building a loyal fanbase, to befriending his long-time idol Justin Bieber and hanging out with Ty Dolla $ign and Skrillex, Sam Tompkins’ artistic journey is nothing short of inspiring. Despite disapproval from his judgemental peers growing up and temporary shakes in his self-belief, Sam maintains an innate resilience, which has ultimately led him to accomplish his current achievements. The East Sussex artist has mastered the art of merging emotionally relatable lyricism with catchy hooks and euphoric sonics; he cathartically channels his complex emotions and tough life experiences into every song he composes, which explains why his entire discography is equally as healing to his listeners, as it is to him.
After performing and signing records at Rough Trade East the day before, Sam brought his soaring vocals and infectious energy to Rough Trade Bristol on 20th March 2022. Predominantly in tracklist order, Sam delivered a heavenly, acoustic performance of his newly-released mini album ‘Who Do You Pray To?’, to an array of eager listeners. Poignantly closing the setlist with his visceral song ‘Hero’, which was written in honour of his Dad, Sam completely mesmerised the audience with his transcendental singing. Even though this track is one of the artist’s oldest songs, and has been performed many times on different tours, ‘Hero’ holds a new significance now as it is finally available to listen to anytime. Sam captured the audience’s undivided attention as he specifically introduced three of the project’s most emotive tracks – ‘My Brother’, ‘Hero’ and ‘Who Do You Pray To When You Don’t Believe In God?’ – with profound stories about how the songs originated. Before performing ‘My Brother’, in particular, Sam told the crowd that the song was inspired by his brother’s immense bravery, when he helped Sam to recite a eulogy at their Nana’s funeral.
Throughout the live show, the crowd of devoted fans shifted between being electrified with energy, as they sang along to every passionate lyric, to completely awe-struck, as the Brighton-based singer ascended to new heights in his phenomenal vocal range. Two committed fans from Cornwall had even driven over three hours, each way, to see Sam, which is a sincere testament to the far-reaching impact of his music. Even though the mini album’s newest tracks had only been released two days prior to the show, Sam’s tender lyrics were relayed back to him by the majority of the crowd, during each song he performed! He appeared to be elated by this, and hugely grateful for the crowd’s participation, as he claimed that the “project was written ages ago” and yet, this was the first time he had felt that his countless hours of work “made sense.”
Effortlessly engaging and charismatically amusing in between songs, Sam wholesomely interacted with the crowd from start to finish, by noticing their Sam-inspired tattoos and talking to even more supporters at home via FaceTime. This harmonised beautifully with the signing segment of the evening, when Sam wrote sweet messages for his supporters, and captured precious moments in photo after photo. Without a doubt, Sam Tompkins epitomises the notion that dreams truly can become reality with a sheer amount of hard work and determination. It was an irreplaceable privilege to witness Sam’s pure brilliance once again, not only as a committed fan but as a music lover in general. Released on all music platforms now, Sam Tompkins’ exceptional mini album ‘Who Do You Pray To?’ is available to buy and stream to your heart’s content. Whilst we adore the w(hole) project, Dan’s favourites are ‘Bloodline’, ‘Hero’ and ‘W(hole)’, whereas I have been loving ‘The Deceiver’, ‘In My Life’ and ‘My Brother.’ By purchasing either a digital or physical copy of the record, you can help Sam reach the No.1 spot in the Official UK Album Charts, as he is currently within close reach of the top spot!
Liv Rose 
Dan Rose
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