{"id":48761,"date":"2025-05-26T08:55:13","date_gmt":"2025-05-26T12:55:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/?p=48761"},"modified":"2025-05-26T08:55:13","modified_gmt":"2025-05-26T12:55:13","slug":"samia-house-of-blues-5-21","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/2025\/05\/26\/samia-house-of-blues-5-21\/","title":{"rendered":"Samia @ House of Blues 5\/21"},"content":{"rendered":"

Photography by Maya Santow<\/p>\n

Review by Kendal Evans<\/p>\n

With her heartfelt lyrics and immersive sound, Samia took the Boston House of Blues on a magical carousel ride: the second stop of her Bloodless Tour. \"\"<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Samia Najimy Finnerty, known as Samia, is <\/span>the<\/span><\/i> staple indie folk\/ rock girl \u2013 if she\u2019s not on your indie playlists, she should be. Her third studio album <\/span>Bloodless <\/span><\/i>was released on April 25 this year, following her two iconic albums <\/span>The Baby<\/span><\/i> and <\/span>Honey<\/span><\/i>. Though she comes from a family of successful actors, her musical talent shines beyond the family name. Bloodless has garnered praise from critics for its lush instrumentals and themes of identity and self (and personally, it is my favorite album of 2025 so far).\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The show opened with New York City based artist (and best friend of Samia) Rafaella. Her indie pop-rock bangers and electric energy made for a fantastic start to the show. Many of the tracks in her set are unreleased, as she is playing them on this tour ahead of her untitled debut record. Standout unreleased tracks included \u201cCourtney\u201d and \u201cBone,\u201d both of which I\u2019m greatly looking forward to hearing on the new record. She also played some of her bigger hits, including \u201cBLONDE,\u201d \u201cBUICK,\u201d and \u201cdrama queen.\u201d from her 2022 EP<\/span> LIVE, RAFF, LOVE (ACT ONE). <\/span><\/i>All in all, Rafaella\u2019s set was incredibly enjoyable, and I personally can\u2019t wait to see her get her flowers upon her record release. Rafaella will continue to support Samia on the Bloodless tour until June 7, after which Renny Conti and Hank Heaven will open.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span>\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

Bathed in blue light, Samia and the band (comprised of Ned \u201cFrench\u201d Steves, Boone Wallace, and Noah \u201cWormy\u201d Raunchwerk) took to the stage at 9 p.m. sharp. The crowd was immediately sucked in as the airy guitars of her hit song \u201cTriptych\u201d echoed through the venue. The clever lyrics and slow burn instrumental build up made it such a fun opening track and set the tone for the whole show.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The stage set almost brought the outside in. The lights were reminiscent of outdoor pathway lights, and on center stage sat a lawn chair, which in my opinion perfectly encapsulates the overall vibe of <\/span>Bloodless<\/span><\/i>. I later found out from a friend that the chair was DoorDashed from the Fenway Target, making it a last minute addition to the stage set. But I can\u2019t picture the show without it! Samia donned jorts and red cami, with bikini strings poking out, further bringing a lakeside campsite energy to the experience. \"\"<\/span>\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

The setlist continued with seven consecutive tracks from <\/span>Bloodless<\/span><\/i>, which to me felt like it was split into three distinct sections. The first run was made up of \u201cDare,\u201d \u201cFair Game,\u201d and \u201cSacred.\u201d These three tracks are more chill instrumentally, but really showcased Samia\u2019s vocal ability. My personal favorite from this run was \u201cFair Game,\u201d as the quippy lyrics combined with Samia\u2019s laid back performance made for an ethereal listening experience.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Then, Samia and the band played the lead single from <\/span>Bloodless<\/span><\/i>, \u201cBovine Excision.\u201d She introduced the song by saying it is \u201cabout cow surgery.\u201d Similar to \u201cTriptych,\u201d the song features her token clever lyrics and an incredible instrumental buildup. However, it is grittier and darker, making for a great changeup from the more folky and laid back run of songs that came before it.<\/span><\/p>\n

The set returned to a more relaxed vibe once again with the next run of songs from <\/span>Bloodless<\/span><\/i>, \u201cProof,\u201d \u201cCarousel,\u201d and \u201cHole in a Frame.\u201d \u201cProof\u201d made for a particularly memorable experience, as the voices of the crowd fill the venue with release and angst during the song\u2019s refrain: \u201cYou don\u2019t know me b*tch.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

After this, the set switched up to include a couple of songs from Samia\u2019s previous albums. The first, \u201cKill Her Freak Out,\u201d from <\/span>Honey<\/span><\/i>, is a slow-paced, instrumentally simple fan favorite. Similar to her performance of \u201cProof,\u201d this song elicited a cathartic crowd reaction during the chorus. Everyone in the room, including myself, shouted the words: \u201cI hope you marry the girl from your hometown, and I\u2019ll f*cking kill her, and I\u2019ll f*cking freak out.\u201d Before the tour, Samia pitted the two songs against each other in an Instagram poll for a spot on the setlist, but I can\u2019t imagine the set without either. The next song, \u201cBig Wheel\u201d from her debut album <\/span>The Baby<\/span><\/i>, is an upbeat folky banger and another fan favorite.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

The next run of songs was again from <\/span>Bloodless<\/span><\/i>, and it was incredibly special, as it included my personal favorites from the album: \u201cSpine Oil,\u201d \u201cCraziest Person,\u201d \u201cLizard,\u201d and \u201cNorth Poles.\u201d It was incredibly special to hear \u201cNorth Poles\u201d in the same room as the person it is about, Rafaella. Before performing it, Samia dedicated the song to her best friend. While listening, I also thought of my best friend, and it made me feel so incredibly happy and uplifted.<\/span><\/p>\n

Samia closed out the main set with two more songs: \u201cFit N Full\u201d from <\/span>The Baby <\/span><\/i>and \u201cPants\u201d from <\/span>Bloodless<\/span><\/i>. It was so incredible to hear \u201cPants\u201d live, as it is one of her more experimental tracks and the closer to <\/span>Bloodless<\/span><\/i>. She introduced the song by saying it is about when you buy a pair of pants and have a crisis about who you are, which is <\/span>very real<\/span><\/i> and rarely talked about phenomena.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

The encore then ensued as the band returned to the stage. It began with my favorite Samia song overall, \u201cPool.\u201d I\u2019ve seen it live before when she opened for Bleachers, and I will never get sick of seeing it live. Then, she played \u201cIs There Something In the Movies,\u201d one of her most streamed songs. Finally, the encore closed with \u201cHoney,\u201d a fun folk-pop song that grabbed the attention of the crowd fully. She announced it as a \u201csing-a-long\u201d and it seemed every person in the venue danced and sang their hearts out.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

Given that this was only the second stop on the <\/span>Bloodless<\/span><\/i> tour, there are plenty more opportunities to see Samia live this year. This was absolutely the best show I\u2019ve seen this year and I\u2019d recommend anyone who enjoys this genre of music to catch a show!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Photography by Maya Santow Review by Kendal Evans With her heartfelt lyrics and immersive sound, Samia took the Boston House of Blues on a magical carousel ride: the second stop of her Bloodless Tour. Samia Najimy Finnerty, known as Samia, is the staple indie folk\/ rock girl \u2013 if she\u2019s not on your indie playlists, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22960,"featured_media":48763,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1895,1525,1523,15,1530],"tags":[2418,33,1128,26,517,202,2417,771,2320,25,2204],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48761"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22960"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48761"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48761\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48772,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48761\/revisions\/48772"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48763"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48761"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48761"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48761"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}