Artists: Samica, Hannah Cutt
Venue: The Viper Room
Date: March 17, 2022
Sidelining normal St. Patrick’s Day activities, I spent this most recent holiday attending a fun, low-key night at The Viper Room to see rising pop/rock artist Samica perform. Only familiar with her from her recent song “Summer of ’99”, I wasn’t sure what to expect from the full live performance based on that quieter acoustic track.
When her performance began, I was first pleasantly surprised to see her with a full band backing, adding a fuller rock element to her pop-style vocals. While this did cause some issues, with the band often overtaking her vocals, Samica‘s joyful and charismatic performance still shone through. After opening with a cover of Justin Timberlake‘s “Suit and Tie”, she went into her original songs. While her lead guitarist Kyle played some melodic, new wave-ish melodies, Samica gave an energetic performance that at times reminded me of a young Alanis Morissette. While her recorded songs are far more stripped back, Samica embraced the vibe a full band brings to the stage and brought out her inner rock star.
While normally moving freely with her mic, Samica picked up her acoustic guitar for “Summer of ’99”, serenading the audience with the gentle tune. She then launched into her newest single, “Happier Than Me” (which you can find in our New Music Friday Playlist), which had a mournful quality to the lyrics, but was balanced out by its mellow pop melodies. Samica played one more song before thanking her audience and ending her set.
I stuck around for the next act, Hannah Cutt. Wearing a green outfit in honor of the holiday, she immediately made her presence known with her powerhouse voice. Backed by a seasoned hard rock band, Cutt showed impressive vocal chops and a confident stage presence as she played a number of heavier original tracks, and a crowd-pleasing cover of 3 Doors Down‘s “Kryptonite”.
Check out songs by Samica below!
The Indy Review 