Originally Published on December 1, 2025 for Rock DNA Magazine Dracula’s Ball descended upon Underground Arts on the most fitting date of all, Halloween. While the ball has gone through quite a few venue switches throughout its years, this switch was one that fit most like the days at Shampoo (R.I.P.) in the early 2000s….
Author: Samantha Mae Sweeney
Concert Review: Allison Russell and Kara Jackson Radiate Love In Philly
Originally Published on May 8, 2025 for Rock DNA Magazine Have you ever been to a show where optimism, activism, and fierce, unconditional love were present all at once? Those are exactly the vibes that the Philly stop of Allison Russell’s, All Returners Tour brought to the Theatre of Living Arts last week. Easing into this…
I keep picking at the scab
TW: Talk of suicide, trauma. If you are having thoughts of suicide, self-harm, and need support, call or text 988, or visit 988lifeline.org. I keep picking at the scabWhen I thought ending my lifeWas an easier solutionTo avoid the painOf not being good enough.I should probably get rid of that shirtThat is morbidly comfortingBut a stark…
In This Moment’s Maria Brink: Empowering or Problematic for Metal Front Women?
Originally Published on November 25, 2014 by Samantha Sweeney for Rock On Philly. Women and their bodies are a battleground, subject to extreme criticism, especially in rock music. Last Tuesday night at In This Moment‘s show at Theatre of Living Arts, it became clear front-woman Maria Brink has engaged herself as the subject of that…
Geoff Downes of YES talks Yestival 2017, Philly, and How He Defines Success
Originally Published August 8, 2017 by Samantha Sweeney for Rock On Philly. Photo by Steve Knight via Flickr. After newly being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this past April, progressive rock legends Yes are returning to Philly tonight for their Yestival tour at the equally historic Tower Theatre. The band has…
Why Hozier’s “Cherry Wine” Is Important and We Should Be Talking About It
Originally Published February 17, 2016 by Samantha Sweeney for Rock On Philly When I first heard “Cherry Wine” on the way to Hozier‘s show at the Trocadero in November 2014, I was struck by the soft, lullaby-ish nature and the simple chords paired with his soft baritone. My sibling, driving, was watching me in the…
Sanctuary
A safe place.A womb a sacred siteTo worship and workOne must create within.To be clergy,And take reins from the rainsThe sand and the dirtOne must first riteAt the altar of the treesAnd right the wrongs of other ritesTo pillage, to sow the desiresOf man-made sinsA suicidal ideationOf greedAnd hapless victimsCaught in an endless webCaught in…
Rollercoaster
You give me the feelingOf a rollercoaster.That lightness in the pit of my stomachWhere it feels like it’s floatingUp to my sternum. It’s warm and also a little fuzzy,Much like a wine buzzMakes everything hilarious. I wish I could find youAnd tell you everything that isn’t alrightBut having you here makes it so.Holding your hand…
Synchronized growth
Two branches growing in tandemLeaning towards the sunInto the rain to catch the best dropsOne half growsAnd the other flowersOne grows leavesThe other brownsThe other turns yellow Then green againOne sprouts a holeFrom an errant insectChewing from the outsideClimbing overThe other to munch And munchIt didOther leans forwardHeavy under the weight of aNew bird’s nestOne…
Wildflowers
Are you here, watering the ocean that is my heartThat I will only admit to being a pond, a lake at bestBut take you in its depths and give you the airfrom my lungsto keep you afloat I have a self-destroying loveThat will plant a garden of in your each and every stepAnd only wish…
I can break my own heart
I break my heart well enough on my ownI can make myself feel worseWithout you having to say itAll the words doIs confirm what I already know My self-esteem is drop in the bucketThe sound that clangs hollow,Not with the bells of ChristmasOr springtime weddings. Just a lonely seashellThat has the squishy insidesOf a long…
Samantha Mae Sweeney 