Sam Riggs Makes Long-Awaited Return With Powerful New Song, “See You On The Other Side”
on Sep 27, 2024
On Friday, September 27, singer Sam Riggs released his first new song in three years.
Titled “SYOTOS (See You On The Other Side,” the song has a rock vibe and tells a powerful and meaningful story.
Riggs’ last music release was his 2021 album Dark Sky. The long break in music is due to wanting to take a break from the hustle and bustle of being a full-time musician to have incredible adventures with his wife, Rachel, and their young son, Rook.
Sam and Rachel are both pilots, so when Sam had the opportunity to fly float planes in Juneau, Alaska, he knew it would give him some stability he never had before. Being home with his son every night and being there every morning when he woke up was “something money and any sort of fame just can’t buy.”
“[Rook] is my whole world. And his mama, Rachel, my wife, is the biggest superhero. For the first time in my life I had everything I ever wanted. I just decided that was where I would put my energy…to reinvest it back into the people that loved me the most,” he told Country Rebel.
Following their year in Alaska, they moved to the Gulf of Mexico, and the aviator couple continued to fly planes and helicopters for work and come home to each other at night.
After moving to the Bayou, he worked two weeks on and two weeks off, so he would perform shows and record new music during the weeks he wasn’t flying planes.
How did “SYOTOS (See You On The Other Side)” come to be?
Speaking to Country Rebel about how “See You On The Other Side” came about, he said, “It’s been in the works for quite a while. In 2018, I was in this changing part of my life, just reinventing myself in many ways. I had finally let go of being predominately a country artist and just kind of gave into my passions for rock music.”
At the same time, he was getting clean and sober, was spending a lot of time outdoors mountain climbing and rock climbing, and was having difficult conversations with his parents about mortality. He also got the acronym “SYOTOS,” which stands for “See You On The Other Side,” tattooed on his back.
Riggs is a very adventurous person and often does high-adventure activities alone. The idea of getting “SYOTOS” tattooed on his back was that if God forbid, he were to be injured or worse, people would see his tattoo and know where his soul would be.
“It’s ‘See You On The Other Side,’ so no matter what happens, [if] somebody finds me face down in the dirt, I’ll see you on the other side, in life or in death,” he told us.
A few years later, he wanted to figure out how to work that phrase into a song.
“I wanted to write a song that really voiced the power of that mindset. It has a heaviness and sadness to it but is full of hope.”
He gave fans an acoustic tease on Wednesday (September 25).
The actual recording—and likely the live version—is much more upbeat and rock-influenced. Despite its catchy melody and rocking beat, the song is quite serious and covers the heavy topic of life and death.
Riggs will perform at On Tour Live in Wichita Falls, Texas, the night of his release to perform the song with the full band for the first time. During our chat, Riggs also revealed that “SYOTOS” is just the beginning of new music. He will have something big released in 2025 and has plans to record a live album on October 12.
Our working relationship with Riggs goes back to 2019, when he came to our Headquarters – in San Diego, CA at the time – to perform a few songs.
We’ve loved watching the evolution of Riggs’ music from his country albums Lighthouse (2012), Outrun The Sun (2013), and Breathless (2016), to his edgier, rock-influenced albums Love & Panic (2019) and Dark Sky (2021). We can’t wait to see what’s next.
