Samuel Herb: Just A Tree
When a songwriter releases a song out into the world, they are hopeful that it connects with a listener and makes their life a little bit better, even if it’s for a brief time. Americana artist Samuel Herb, decided to take that feeling a step further and also make planet Earth just a little bit better… for the long-haul. On January 31 of this year, Samuel Herb released his latest single, “Just a Tree.” In an effort to be more environmentally conscious and make an impact, Herb, in partnership with OneTreePlanted.org, is having a tree planted for every 1,000 digital streams of his single, “Just a Tree.”
Samuel Herb is relatively new to the Nashville music scene, but has gained a good amount of momentum in his wake. Songwriting has always been a passion and something that he not only wants, but knows he needs to do. While studying journalism in college, he sold his laptop to finance a trip to Nashville from his hometown of Jacksonville, Florida. While there to attend the NSAI’s Song Camp in the summer of 2015, he received an email notifying him that he had finished second in the American Songwriter Magazine’s Lyric Contest. His mentors at the workshop reassured him that he was already beyond the beginner level of songwriting and that he needed to move to Nashville to hone his craft. From that moment on, he knew he needed to pursue his dream. So, in 2016, while finishing his degree online, Sam arrived in Nashville ready to network and write songs.
By 2018, Herb was ready to make music his full-time gig and did so after releasing two singles that year. His debut single was the cheeky and innuendo-filled, “Dirty.” and was followed up in the Fall by “Someone Else’s Dream.” Both singles garnered excellent traction in the Top 10 of the iTunes Singer/Songwriter chart. In the Spring of 2019, Samuel Herb released his self-titled, six-song debut EP. Again, making it into the iTunes Singer/Songwriter chart’s Top 10.
Photo By Kayley Hackney
Herb’s enchantment with storytelling is what drew him to the Country and Americana music genres. With an eclectic palette for music, James Brown, Jack Johnson and Disney tunes were some of his early influences, but the lyric-driven, emotional elements of Country music are what drive him today. He derives much of his sound from a cross between Country and Motown music, and therefore, relates with such Americana artists as Anderson East. Sam describes his songwriting as his truth. Everything he writes about is plucked straight from his own life. He feels that’s the best way for him to feel truly authentic in his songwriting.
So where did the inspiration for “Just a Tree” come from? Unrequited love, of course. When describing the feelings he was developing for a girl he knew, Sam said he felt like, “she was the entire Universe to him; but to her, he was just a tree.” Upon contemplation of those feelings, he wrote out what it would feel like to be a single tree in this Universe and that’s what sparked the song idea. He wrote out the chorus, first verse, and bridge before taking it to his friends, Elysse Yulo and Drea Gordon, to help with a few melody changes and the addition of the second and third verses. The production is simple, but laced with details that put you directly into the scene: the song opens with the sound of an axe making a connection with wood and the faint chirping of birds. The lyrics are tender, yet heart-breaking as the storyteller illustrates the disappointment of insignificance in someone else’s life. “I know she could cut me down/ Tear my roots from the ground/ Though I’d love her to carve her name into me/ But she is the Universe and I am just a tree.”
On January 31, Herb played a show for his “Just a Tree” single release party to a sold-out room at The Basement in Nashville. With the ticket revenue generated from that show alone, Sam was able to plant 155 trees in recently fire-ravaged Australia. Since then, the total number of trees planted from that show, merchandise sales and digital streams is well over 170 and counting. Even if Samuel Herb isn’t your cup of tea, but global reforestation is, pull up “Just a Tree” on your favorite streaming platform, put it on repeat while you sleep and grow yourself a little forest.
In 2020, Herb is developing from his touring experiences of 2019 and hoping to play more opening gigs or support touring acts to expand his fan base. He covered a lot of ground in 2019 by playing in 23 different states and shared stages with such contemporaries as Rodney Atkins, Jamie Lin Wilson, Son Little, Pokey LaFarge, Amythyst Kiah, Hush Kids, Tyler Hilton, Erin Rae, and Shawn James, to name a few. Sam anticipates releasing two more singles in the next year and of course, to keep writing as much as possible. By 2021, Samuel Herb hopes to add his name to multiple festival line ups, as well. Sam is excited to get back to touring, revisiting the audiences he’s played for the last couple of years and also meeting new fans. So, be sure to add “Just a Tree” to your latest playlist and enjoy Samuel’s true-to-life storytelling while helping reshape the beauty and landscape of the world.