SAMMY KAY

BIO

Life works in a delicate balance, a push and pull of tragedy and hope. Americana singer-songwriter Sammy Kay teeters with acrobatic ease between both facets of the human condition across the entirety of his records.

On his new single, produced by Jon Graber (NOFX / MXPX / GOLDFINGER / WE ARE THE UNION) Kay sings with ease of the life he used to live, revisiting topics such as addiction, mental health and heartache, while pushing forward into a new life.

“Jersey-born, Bakersfield-based Sammy Kay empathizes with those who’ve “lost out on faith” in this gripping ballad about our endless search for better days to come. Kay’s sandpaper voice is the sound of a guy who has seen some shit and come out the other side, maybe a little less intact than he was before. “Better/Worse” is vulnerable, disarming, and just the slightest bit optimistic. RIYL Brian Fallon, Chuck Ragan, and the punk troubadour class.”
(Rolling Stone Magazine / Sep. 14th 2020)

“You can always tell a Jersey musician without really having to open Wikipedia. Maybe it’s the gritty realism of the songs a la Springsteen that shines a light on the 70s Mustang-driving underdog. Or perhaps it’s the witty storytelling ability a la The Front Bottoms of street-level observations that wallow in the mundaneness of suburbia. Or maybe it’s the blue collar lifestyle a la Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes that would rather drink and smoke under the boardwalk. But whatever is in that Jersey water, it flows through every Jersey musician’s veins… You can practically smell it.

Asbury Park-born and bred singer songwriter Sammy Kay is no different. With a gravel-studded voice reminiscent of early Darkness on the Edge of Town Springsteen and a similar flair for sentimental tales of the underdog, Kay weaves a story so immersed in the suburban Jersey tradition with his new single “Methamphetamines” that you’d swear his boots were previously worn by John Easedale of Dramarama. It’s the sound of the deserted Seaside Heights boardwalk in the winter, abandoned by the summer tourists from the city, steeped in the creeping depression of the vacated Jersey shore. It’s lonely but poignant… It’s music you want to listen to but not live through.”
(American Songwriter / 2020)

VIDEO

SHOWS

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