Indie pop singer Samia Finnerty, known professionally as Samia, is set to perform at Oklahoma City’s Beer City Music Hall on Monday.
Daughter of actor and musician Dan Finnerty and actress Kathy Najimy, Samia grew up in a household that valued the arts. With her musical background established, she found a passion for poetry and writing in middle school.
“I had a great English teacher in the fifth and sixth grade,” Samia told the OU Daily. “This was the best way to marry the two passions.”
Samia’s career was jump started in 2017 with the release of her debut single, “Someone Tell The Boys,” which landed a spot on many individuals' Spotify Discover Weekly playlists soon after its release, according to an article from The Verge.
In 2020, Samia released her debut album “The Baby.” The 11-track album features songs such as “Big Wheel,” exploring simultaneous feelings of frustration and empathy in past relationships, and the heartfelt “Pool,” which opens with a voicemail of her grandmother and focuses on themes of loss and acceptance.
While the world was in quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic, Samia was writing her sophomore album, “Honey.” She said that, without much happening in her own life to write about, she turned to writing about her past.
“We were talking a lot about death,” Samia said. “Just maybe as a reflection of the times and what was around us personally.”
Cover of Samia's second album, "Honey."
“Honey” was released in January 2023 under NYC-based independent record label Grand Jury Music, and produced by Samia’s long-time collaborator, North Carolina-based producer Caleb Wright.
The album features a range of different sounds, from dance-provoking rhythms to melancholy tunes. The title track “Honey,” while upbeat, explores Samia’s feelings during a time when she was using alcohol as a distraction and is thematically paralleled in the soft, slow “Breathing Song.”
Samia said that “Honey” is a record for people who “feel lonely in their ugliest thoughts.”
Samia has been touring on and off for the past two months, supporting artists such as Boygenius, Noah Kahan and Briston Maroney and playing at the Outside Lands Music Festival in San Francisco.
To Samia, opening for artists can feel like being a contestant on “American Idol,” where she must win over an audience that may not know her yet.
“That part has been an interesting dance,” Samia said. “But also really rewarding at the same time because then you can connect with all these people that you would have never otherwise been in the same room with.”
Creating a connection with the crowd is a crucial to Samia. She said that, as a headliner, moments in which the crowd is singing along with her feels like “everyone’s birthday party.”
“That’s when I feel like it’s a good show,” Samia said. “Is when I actually feel like I’ve gotten to know these people in a way.”
For her Oklahoma City show, Samia will be joined by openers Venus & the Flytraps. The Nashville, Tennessee-based indie band composed of Brenna Kassis and Ceci Tome, who she met on a trip to Nashville.
“They mentioned that they had a band, and I couldn’t stop listening to it for months,” Samia said. “It’s so, so much fun to see them live.”
While this isn’t her first time performing in Oklahoma City, the show on Monday will be Samia’s first time headlining a venue in the city.
“I’ve loved playing in Oklahoma City every time,” Samia said. “Everywhere in Oklahoma that we’ve been, it’s one of my favorite places to play, so it’s going to be a real honor.”
Samia will perform at 8 p.m. on Monday at Beer City Music Hall at 1141 NW 2nd St. in Oklahoma City. Doors open at 7 p.m., and tickets to the concert can be purchased online.
This story was edited by Emma Blakley. Mary Ann Livingood and Avery Avery copy edited this story.
