Sam and Louise Sullivan | Artist to Watch — October 2026
Hometown: Portland, Oregon (but they call Philly home now!)
Why They’re WXPN’s Artist To Watch: This brother-sister duo has quickly become one of the hottest indie acts in the scene right now. While their first and sophomore albums are great spins, it’s their latest, Love & Devotion, that created a fervor around the band that’s part of the ascending South Philly-based Historic New Jersey family (which includes Star Moles, Rubber Band Gun, and more).
Sam and Louise grew up playing music with their writer father and ceramicist mother, singing various old American and British folk songs before falling in love with traditional music in New York City. Following years of being entrenched in folk and trad music, the duo are edging into the pop sphere with their new record, which Jeff Tweedy called “really beautiful, well-crafted folk pop.” Say less, Jeff!
You Might Know Them From: Some major music outlets such as Paste, Stereogum, Pitchfork, Philadelphia Inquirer Music Critic Dan DeLuca, and more have given tons of love (pun intended) to Love & Devotion. You may have caught their Studio 9 live session on YouTube, too. If you haven’t, we got you.
Fun Fact: Sam, a high school English teacher, previously wrote poetry, but began writing songs for Louise to sing. Their first EP, Sam and Louise, was made using a USB microphone during the pandemic in between loads of laundry.
Essential Tracks: “Down on Love,” “Jealousy & Envy,” “Love & Devotion”
Catch Them Live: As of this feature’s publication, Sam and Louise don’t have any Philly dates on the books, unfortunately. But you can see them supporting Hamilton Leithauser and Rostam Nov. 5 alongside Madra Salach in Washington DC and Nov. 11 in Somerville, Massachusetts (sans Madra Salach, however).
