Written by Alex Arthur
Two weeks ago, Sam Wilkes was the last-ever artist to headline Music Hall of Williamsburg on the date of April 3rd, as the iconic venue announced it will be closing its doors for good at the end of this year. So, Nasa and I wanted to pay our respects. And in a city where punctuality is oftentimes undervalued, his fans were right on time and at capacity, which was very … Sam Wilkes of them.
I had the great fortune of meeting Sam when I was 18 years old at the University of Southern California. We were both in arts programs: he, studying R&B and Funk music at the Thornton School, and I, studying acting.
It didn’t take long for everybody to understand that he was special. An anomaly, if you will. In his (overwhelming) technical ability, yes, but I would say even more so in his discipline and devotion. In his deep reverence for music. His joyful obsession with it. Qualities which one could argue may perhaps be even more important than cultivating technical talent alone, but I digress.
Sam just got it. He had an early understanding of the assignment, which was to ensure the longevity of his artistic life. An understanding that is, more often than not, lost on young artists and was, frankly, most definitely lost on me.
And as I have watched him for almost two decades tend to the fruits of this labor from afar, year after year I am quietly struck with various artistic “a hah” moments, and in retrospect think, “Wow Sam Wilkes totally saw this clearly.”
Now, these are all flowery words, and I’m definitely probably sure he’d never use them, but I’ma let me finish and say that Sam is as if childlike curiosity and the discipline of a musical athlete had a baby. Ok!
And New York City had the great pleasure of witnessing the humble music athlete on April 3rd as he, alongside Benny Bock, Craig Weinrib, and Will Graefe, mesmerized us with a sonic teleportation for two hours. His joy still as palpable and pure as it was at 18.
If you have the chance to catch Sam play when he returns to New York (hopefully as soon as this summer), give yourself the gift, why don’t ya. In the meantime, you can check out a live recording of his 2025 Public Records show on Spotify. I was there; you couldn’t move. As it should be.