Sam Tinnesz

With its mix of rock swagger and pop bombast, Sam Tinnesz’s rousing alt-pop found its way into numerous television and film avenues during the late-2010s with credits ranging from major league sports broadcasting to series like Riverdale and commercials for a variety of high-profile retailers. His 2017 debut album yielded the streaming hit “Play with Fire” and kicked off a prolific run of releases over the next few years.
Based in Nashville, Tinnesz first made his name as part of the indie pop group Wave & Rome, which he formed with former Paramore guitarist Josh Farro. They enjoyed some modest success in the mid-2010s before Tinnesz launched his solo career and signed with Warner Bros. A handful of smaller releases led up to his 2017 debut, Babel, on which he introduced his core sound. Gritty, maximalist, and replete with undeniable hooks, Tinnesz managed to land syncs for tracks like the Yacht Money-assisted “Play with Fire” and “Legends Are Made,” which proved particularly suited to the sports arena. In 2018, he issued a set of alternate versions from his debut called Babel: The Ruins and relaunched Wave & Rome as a trio with bandmates Joe Williams and Vince DiCarlo. Amid solo releases and collaborations with Yung Youth, Built by Titan, and others, Wave & Rome offered up their eponymous debut album in 2019. Another Tinnesz solo outing, the eight-song set Warplanes, appeared in 2020. ~ Timothy Monger