Sam Tinnesz is one of my favorite musicians – meaning I have a considerable amount of his songs on my playlists. Describing him as talented is an understatement. He writes songs, sings them, produces them, is an instrumentalist, and his bond is to serve – including helping other artists as much as he can. Something I didn’t realize before I began exploring his background for this article is that he is also wholly independent, and yet is maintaining a steady success.
He has been regularly releasing songs every damn month in 2021! I just wanted to point that out, in case you’d like to hop onto his fanbase and take a listen. He is also promoting other untapped artists as he does this, which is awesome! Thanks to him and his music, I’ve now got several more voices on my list to look up and do bio posts for. In March, he held the spot for my favorite new upload – “I Don’t Miss You”.
I’m definitely not his only fan. Thanks to his collaborations with other artists and his exposure in television and film, he’s now racked up over 250K subscribers on YouTube where his song “Play With Fire” (one of my absolute favorites) has hit over 100 million views during its several incarnations. He also has a monthly reach of over 2.4 million listeners on Spotify. And all this from being the best he can be, always bringing something to the table when he collaborates, and having a mind and a heart to serve.
Table of Contents
PERSONAL/ PROFESSIONAL HISTORY
Sam Tinnesz is originally from Atlanta, Ga but has lived in Nashville for 15 years. He found Christianity through music while he was in college at Belmont University. He played gigs with a band named Mike’s Chair – that wrote, produced, and performed their own Contemporary Christian music. He signed his first record deal with the band with Curb Records before they graduated college. He wound up moonlighting just to keep his head above water even though they were signed artists touring for over 8 years while in and out of college.
What turned him around? In his mid 20’s he decided to leave the road and start writing exclusively. He was working mainly on Christian music but began diving into pop and alternative rock music. After accepting that perhaps God was leading him to this point, Sam began writing with people on both sides of this aisle.
He was introduced to Maggie Eckford who liked his work and in turn introduced him to the TV and Film world of music. He went on to later to be an integral part of the team that developed the artist Ruelle – from Maggie Eckford’s darker imaginings. In 2018 she was Billboard’s number 1 most synced artist. Also, in 2018, he hit big with “Legends Are Made”. Since then, he’s continued to write, publish, and make music, even during the pandemic.
He released a combo set of EPs in 2020 – White Doves + Warplanes
Moving from his normal style of music, Sam released “Wild Blood” featuring Pep Squad in April of 2021.
Then right at the end of the month, he dropped “World Gone Wild” featuring UNSECRET. This one has more of that epic sound I’ve come to expect from Sam. He’s continued to release more and more music and to hear and see videos for that, check out his YouTube channel, links are below!
Sam recently released a highly anticipated album, White Doves + Warplanes (Deluxe) with the support of Warner Music Group’s ADA. White Doves is actually an album to itself, even though both were intended to be one album, one a continuation of the other. Warplanes album is actually very dark (emotionally speaking) while White Doves has music with a more positive vibe. If you want to check those playlists out before buying – WHITE DOVES + WARPLANES
Like I said before, he’s been releasing video after video this year, so use the links below to find them on YouTube or your favorite streaming or purchasing service.
As of this article, he just dropped “Dynamite” but I’m sure we will be seeing more from him.
STYLE AND INFLUENCE
Sam’s voice is something difficult to describe. He can deliver powerful vocals meant for epic scenes, and then in the very next song, his timbre is softer and lighter, singing about community and friendship.
Sam is a deeply spiritual man and with that comes an influence that can’t be ignored. When he was performing with Mike’s Chair, he stayed so long with the band because he loved giving the message of God to other people through the music. However, he often felt burned out. His drive to continue comes from the influence of his beliefs. And even though his music has adapted to a different genre, you can still find a lot of those spiritual lessons woven into it.
His music is sometimes a bit pop and sometimes so dramatic, you’d swear it was made for a movie score. And almost all of his songs, whether he sings them or has written them for someone else, have meaning. He likes to fashion songs about people’s journeys.
I have looked all over and I don’t really see any specific artist or group of artists that are the main influence for Sam Tinnesz. I do, however, see that each album and in turn each song seems to be influenced by the world we live in, the culture he sees and experiences, his spirituality, and the feelings and emotions from his own life.
For instance, he suffers from anxiety and some of his songs are inspired by his struggle with that. Others are influenced by his family and his past. “Better Together” is a song that came out right after Covid-19 quarantines became a thing. It captures people’s fears but highlights the importance of community while coping.
COLLABORATIONS & CONNECTIONS
Even if you don’t realize it, you have probably heard the voice and music of Sam Tinnesz. His songs are often used in movies, television and streaming shows, sports broadcasts, and commercials. If you go to his website and click on the TV/FILM listing in the top menu, you will find links to where several of his songs were used.
You’ll find his music in movies, shows, and trailers for such entertainment as The Walking Dead, Spiderman: Homecoming, Allegiant, The Good Doctor, The Hunger Games: Mocking Jay, Bad Samaritan, Riverdale, Quantico, Second Chance, The Rookie, Running Wild with Bear Grylls, The Crossing, Bad Samaritan, All American, a World of Dance, and more. His music has been heard in pro sports broadcasting like NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, and UFC, and in national ads for companies such as Toyota, Samsung, Jeep, and Target, and many more.
Once Sam found success, he provided a helping hand out to other artists. He’s also been writing and co-producing hit after hit with other artists. This list of artists includes Ruelle, Fleurie, Whissell, Young Summer, Anna Mae, and Tommee Profitt. He’s ventured into a bit more of a pop sound during 2020 and that evolution has led him to collaborate with Kygo (“Don’t Give Up On Love feat. Sam Tinnesz”), Banners, Andreas Moss, Erin McCarley, and Daniella Mason.
ORIGINAL SONGS or DISCOGRAPHY
Albums
- Babel 2017
- Babel: The Ruins 2018
- Warplanes 2020
- White Doves 2020
There are so many songs that Sam Tinnesz has been featured in or that he co-wrote, co-produced, and even those he has listed… Many are featuring collaborations with other artists. There are so many that I don’t want to waste your time listing them all here. Instead, I am going to provide a link to his comprehensive playlist UNSECRET… But feel free to peruse his work using the links below!
FIND OUT MORE:
WEBSITE: https://www.samtinnesz.com/
MULTILINK: https://samtinnesz.ffm.to/wdwpdeluxe
