Sam Smith announces 12 shows at Warsaw in Greenpoint, shares new single “To Be Free”

Sam Smith‘s last headlining NYC shows happened at Madison Square Garden in 2023, and they’ll play a considerably more intimate location when they return this fall. They’ve announced a 12-show residency at Greenpoint venue Warsaw on October 8, 10, 11, 15, 17, 18, 21, 22, 24, 29, 30, and 31. It’s called “To Be Free: New York City,” and they say, “This residency is something I’ve been thinking about and planning in my head for a long time. It’s such a different experience to play intimate shows, and I’m so excited to host this in a city that I adore.” Tickets go on sale Friday, August 1 at 10 AM ET, with various presales starting Tuesday, July 29 at 8 AM ET.

Sam also shared a new single with the same name as their residency. They co-wrote and produced “To Be Free” with regular collaborator Simon Aldred, and they say, “I’ve never had a recording experience like I did making this song. It’s one vocal and guitar take from start to finish – one live performance of me and my friend Simon Aldred in a pure state of music and expression. I wrote it five years ago while writing my last album Gloria and then parked it because I knew it was not a song for that album. It was created during a time in my life where I became free within myself.”

“With this song, the visual of rivers kept coming into my mind and into my heart,” Sam adds. “I grew up next to a little river in Cambridgeshire in the countryside of England. Then I moved to London and lived by the Thames, and now I live by the Hudson River. Rivers have been in my life a lot. So I found it interesting to think of my music and my expression as an artist as a river. Over the last five years, Simon and I started to create music that fit into this world of ‘To Be Free’ and during this time, I’ve continued to turn to this song in happy moments, sad moments, lonely moments and angry moments. It’s become my sister, my family member and ultimately calms me. Now, I’m ready to let it go and hopefully it can do the same for someone else.”

SAM SMITH: TO BE FREE: NEW YORK CITY 2025 WARSAW RESIDENCY DATES
Wednesday, October 8
Friday, October 10
Saturday, October 11
Wednesday, October 15
Friday, October 17
Saturday, October 18
Tuesday, October 21
Wednesday, October 22
Friday, October 24
Wednesday, October 29
Thursday, October 30
Friday, October 31