At only 21 years of age, Sam Burger’s musical journey started when he was 8 years old, learning to play the piano and drums. He played Jazz drums in various school bands growing up, and started writing his own music when he was around 16. In 2016, Sam started his first band – Opposite The Other – which, in a short space of time, skyrocketed to the top of the local radio charts. The band have opened for the likes of The Lumineers (USA) and Bastille (UK) on their South African tours and collaborated with several SA Pop icons including Jimmy Nevis.

Continuing his passion for music, Sam Burger recently launched his new solo act ‘A Year On Earth’, an ongoing musical project where he explores what it means to be human in this world through the songs he writes. “All I really want to do is write the best songs I can, and as many as I can without overthinking it too much. Anything else that happens is a bonus”, says Sam.

‘A Year On Earth’ sees Sam take a different approach and a big change in sound to what he was doing with ‘Opposite The Other’, which says a lot about him as an artist. With a lot of his songs being piano-driven, ballad-style tracks, he single-handedly writes, records, produces and even creates the lyric videos that accompany each of his releases.

Through the lead single from his new project entitled ‘Heaven’s Door’, his solo sound has been described as hauntingly beautiful with impressive production and vocals, but with lyrics that really makes him shine. The songs are intimate and honest, which is Sam’s purpose for the project.

Apple Music is proud to feature Sam Burger and his ‘A Year On Earth’ project as the Apple Music New Artist Spotlight for October, which is different to anything that has been supported in their New Artist Spotlight before. Four singles have been released to date and are available on Apple Music.

“It’s a privilege to be the featured artist of the month for the Apple Music New Artist Spotlight. Apple Music has supported my music more than I could have ever have hoped for since launching independently in February and I’m excited to see the growth that takes place going forward as we continue to work together.”

The Apple Music New Artist Spotlight is an artist development feature where a light is shone on a new South African artist each month, giving them four weeks of editorial support in Apple Music an artist, inclusion in the Mzansi Hits section and in key Apple Music playlists such as The A-List: South Africa, Best of the Week and more.

Previous South African artists to have benefited from the Apple Music New Artist Spotlight include Dutchkid, Emerger, Darkie Fiction, Thandi Ntuli, The Big Hash, Diamond Thug, Sun-El Musician, Shekhinah, Shane Eagle, Elandre, Sketchy Bongo, Amanda Black, Babes Wodumo, Sipho The Gift, Johnny Cradle, Tholwana, Lucy Kruger, Moonga K, Josh Kempen and Alice Phoebe Lou.

​With over 50 million songs, Apple Music offers a free 3 month trial with no commitment and is ad-free. Apple Music is available on iPhone and iPad and also for download from Google Play for Android devices