Sammy Thomas Stephen’s love for music began during his late teen while listening to his uncle sing during their grog sessions.

Sammy, 33, is a Samoan with maternal links to Rotuma. He was brought up by his grandparents in Suva and is the second eldest of five siblings.

“Well I started playing in a band in 2003, going to and fro on the bass and guitars, as for singing I started a few years down the line in 2010,” said Sammy.

He plays the bass guitar while being the lead vocalist. And now he often switched to the drums and keyboard as well.

Sammy likes to keep an open mind and be flexible with different styles of music, at the moment he’s challenging himself to learn a bit of old school jazz.

“I used to be a music teacher but later chose to be a full time musician it’s kind of fun and scary living on the edge surviving on gigs.”

One of the main challenges for him is trying to maintain a good performance record because each gig determines and secures the next gig.

“Trying to keep the audience and the management happy is a must for me.”

He mostly does cover tunes and is working on a few original tunes, which is currently in the works at the moment.

Sammy has performed at the Uprising Music Festival, Vodafone Hibiscus Festival alongside Ken Jansen.  He was also part of the Brothers band where he played alongside seasoned musos like Inoke Kalounisiga, David Stevens, and Noah Moko.

He attributes the success of his music career to his music teacher Lai Veikoso and Ken Jansen, family and friends.

“My advice to other upcoming artists out there is never say you’re not good enough, be punctual for your gigs and always have fun,” he said proudly.

His long term plan is have his original singles recorded and played on the radio. He hopes to perform on a cruise liner soon which is his ultimate goal.

Sammy is currently contracted at the Pearl South Pacific Resort from Monday to Saturday at 5pm. He also performs at the Uprising Beach Resort and Nanuku Auberge Resort on Sundays in Pacific Harbour.