An Interview with Coventry musician Samantha Stoney
Samantha Stoney is resilient. That much became evident as I watched the 21 year old Coventry musician preview her track, Final Call, ahead of its premiere at the University’s Mix-Up 2024 event. Unwavering in her performance the emotional track, Final Call is the perfect encapsulation of the stages of grief, whilst paying homage to loved one.
I caught up with Samantha after her performance to learn more about career highlights so far, her inspiration for this specific song and where she sees herself in the future.
April: Hi Samantha, thank you so much for sitting down with me today.
Samantha: No problem, it’s my pleasure!
April: You’ve been performing for a number of years now, and it shows with how confident you are when you’re on a stage. Which performances do you feel have been the highlight of your career so far?
Samantha: So, I’ve done quite a few so far. I did one at the Belgrade Theatre on the main stage when I was in year six and then I’ve done a couple at The Albany and at The Century Theatre too. They’re all my favourites by far but I can’t lie, there aren’t any standout moments from these performances. I think for me, it’s that feeling when you first get on stage and see everyone’ s faces that stands out, ‘cause for me I always spot my mum. I’ll have this entire crowd of people in front of me, like I’ve had audiences of hundreds of people in front of me and I always spot my mum which calms me down, but then sometimes it makes me freak out a little, knowing I need to do well for her!
April: Final Call is truly a beautiful song, what is the inspiration behind it?
Samantha: My inspiration came from the fact that one of my uncles passed away last year, from cancer. The song is about him, he was a bartender, i.e. the title being ‘Final Call’ like a final call for a drink. It came to me as we were all very sad when he passed but we wanted to have something to remember him by, which I’ve done through this song.
April: What impact do you hope your music will have on those who listen?
Samantha: I want my songs to be more relatable. I kind of want a song for each emotion and vibe. We’ve had quite a few tragedies in the family recently so, obviously, a lot of my songs are based around that and so that people going through the same thing can listen and emotionally connect with these tracks as opposed to your regular old pop songs.
April: Finally, where do you see yourself in the next five years?
Samantha: I want to be a music teacher and privately tutor in vocals as this is my specialty. I’ll need to ensure I’ve got the right qualifications first but this would allow me to work with my current vocal coach. I’d also be looking to continue to release music, but just as a side hustle and as a way to have a bit of fun whilst I’m teaching.
Samantha Stoney will be releasing a six song EP this April and performing at Coventry University’s Mix-Up '24 event next week. More information can be found on her social channels here.