Colorado’s the Samples have been making music long enough to have acquired a long-haul retrospective confidence. This year the band, which is mostly defined now by the presence of singer/songwriter Sean Kelly, turned 30, and its blend of mellow Grateful Dead-tinged jams and lilting Police-ish reggae rock has aged into a classic sound, part Jack Johnson, part Jimmy Buffett.
Frontman Kelly writes songs with a simple straightforward sense of wonder about observing the world whip by, taking in the grandeur of humanity, and finding community and joy through music and experience.
“Nature, it’s all around me. Nature, it so astounds me,” sings Kelly in his earnest observational style on “Nature.”
The band has made numerous stops in Fairfield County and Connecticut over the past couple years and Kelly and crew have built strong ties to the area. They’ll celebrate the new year with a mix of new and old music.
See the Samples at Fairfield Theater Company’s Warehouse, 70 Sanford St., Fairfield, on Sunday. Dec. 31, at 8 p.m. Tickets are $65. 203-259-1036 or fairfieldtheatre.org.
