Live from the Boom Room is a live music video series featuring live performances recorded in the Blip Blap Video HQ bunker in St. Louis, Mo. Learn more about Blip Blap Video at blipblapvideo.com, or follow them on Instagram and YouTube.
This week’s episode features Samir Knox performing his original, “Don’t Let Me Turn My Back on You.”
About this week’s artist:
Samir Knox is a 22-year-old, Missouri-bred country folk singer. He tries to mix his punk influences with the classic, simple songwriting of 20th century country and blues artists. While still at the start of his career, Samir aims to create memorable melancholic folk songs.
What brought you to this point in your life as a working St. Louis artist?
I started out playing gigs in high school in my half prog rock, half punk rock band. We mostly played outside football games at our high school until someone yelled at us to stop because the game had started. After that, someone gave me a Springsteen record and I fell into this folk/country/rock and roll rabbit hole that changed me. I took a step back from trying to perform and just put everything into being a songwriter. I haven’t really peaked my head up until now.
What inspires your music? What does this song in particular mean to you?
This song, called “Don’t Let Me Turn My Back on You,” came out of a particularly difficult summer that everyone I knew was going through. It was one of those times where it felt like everyone had been called to go somewhere else and you were stuck with nobody. This was an exercise in writing a song of affirmations, codifying my commitment to people I love.
Who in St. Louis are you inspired by right now?
I am endlessly inspired by the kindness and talent of Luke Sailor. He was a couple grades above me in high school and has always been so generous with his time and effort to help me get further. From listening and critiquing my early recordings to helping me with getting more shows, Luke is loved and trusted by many in town for good reason.
What bands are you performing with lately?
I’ve only just gotten back into performing, and I’ve moved out to Wyoming for work, at least for a little while. But I got the great chance to open for the incredible Missouri band, the Pentagram String Band, a few weeks back. It felt like home came back to me for a night.
Where do you hope to be in 5 years?
I have the dream I’m sure we all do, to spend my whole life only making music. I’ll be 27 in 5 years, here’s hoping I’ll be good enough by then. I can already tell you I’m better now than I was when I cut this video with Brian.
Links:
Instagram | Spotify | Soundcloud
This season of Live from the Boom Room has been partially funded by a generous grant from the Regional Arts Commission. Help keep Live from the Boom Room an absolutely free service for musical artists by supporting the project with your donation here: https://paypal.me/blipblap
