There’s a specific league of creatives (let’s be honest, mainly rappers) who can’t help themselves but keep adopting new semi-official monikers. Then there’s the other extreme of strictly eponymous performers (e.g. the vast majority of country music). So there’s gotta be a sweet spot somewhere in between stage name, nickname, and birth name, right? Enter Long Island-raised singer-guitarist Samuel Kapust, known to his friends as “Sammy Miami” and billed onstage as Samuel Miamuel.
Samuel Miamuel moved down to Austin in 2013 in pursuit of a degree at UT and quickly became immersed in the Live Music Capital’s culture. He’s racked up plenty of experience playing covers across Austin and Georgetown since then, but has only recently invested into his love of original songwriting. The complex harmonies and clever lyricism of Billy Joel, Father John Misty, and Paul Simon lend themselves to Samuel Miamuel’s recipe book of jazz-tinged folk-rock. And just in time for the summer, Samuel Miamuel’s graced us with a siesta-friendly slow burner that breezes between acoustic verses and distorted choruses, “Beach Dog”.
–Jack Anderson
