Acclaimed musician and actor Sam Palladio has released his brand new single Something On My Mind, the first song to be taken from his highly anticipated debut album coming in 2024.
Nashville In Concert @ Hammersmith Apollo
Something On My Mind is an achingly touching pop ballad inspired by the passing of Palladio’s mother Sally. The opening trombones provide a fanfare celebration of Sally’s life at her musical ceremony, which erupts with a grand anthemic chorus from Sam and his band, reflecting the cherished memories shared through life in this heartfelt tribute.
Regarding the song Sam says, “Something On My Mind is the heartbeat to this chapter of my life. It’s my attempt at putting into melody and words what my late Mum Sally meant to me. She passed away in November 2018 after battling a brain tumour. It felt right to lead with this song as my first single and as a dedication to her nearly five years later. It’s hopefully a song that will bring people together in our shared experience of loss.
“The chorus lyric “There’s something on my mind, it haunts me every night, the perfect summers day, before we lost the light” is one I’m most proud of and in my mind symbolises mum being the light of our lives and the darkness once it fades. I liked the joy and beauty of the line on its face value, as it reminds me of youthful summer days on the beach, but also liked the dichotomy it created when put into the context of loss. Ultimately, I felt that it allows her to live forever through song. With that notion in mind, I placed a tiny voice clip of her within the song.”
Watch the visualiser for Something On My Mind below:
Cornish singer and multi-instrumentalist Sam Palladio has enjoyed a whirlwind career since he originally shot to fame on the other side of the pond, playing the character of Gunnar Scott, an aspiring country singer, wannabe rocker and roguish heartbreaker in American TV series Nashville. Over six seasons and 122 episodes, Gunnar performed with the likes of Elton John and became an anchor of the show alongside Hayden Panettiere’s Juliette Barnes and Connie Britton’s Rayna Jaymes – the Brit became a star of US television.
But even as his acting career skyrocketed, with music front and centre on the show, Sam was still pursuing his own personal musical dreams. Living in Music City itself, the singer and songwriter was spending any and all of his spare time creating his own music and playing in Nashville bars. Being an American TV acting A-lister was all well and good, but Sam knew where his lifelong passion lay. Palladio even joined Foo Fighters guitarist Chris Shiflett for a show in London:
Chris Shiflett @ Water Rats
“The idea of making my own album had been gnawing and knocking and banging at the back of my mind for the most of my life,” says the 36-year-old. So, when the titular show ended in 2018, it was time to lean in.
Palladio joined his former Nashville cast mates Jonathan Jackson, Clare Bowen & Charles Esten for a reunion show at London’s Hammersmith Apollo just last month where the troupe recreated classic tunes from the TV series as well as providing Sam the opportunity to air Something On My Mind live.
Check out exclusive photos from the show taken by Rockshot Magazine’s Kalpesh Patel below:
After a handful of years in the acting spotlight – a career that certainly isn’t going away with a very exciting film project to be announced soon – Sam is now ready for his rock’n’roll close-up with more details on the album to follow soon.
Live photography of Sam Palladio, Nashville In Concert and Chris Shiflett by Kalpesh Patel.
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