Sam Houston

Right away, it was obvious that Sam Houston was going to bring the fun to Café con Siete. Dressed in rose colored glasses, wide-brimmed hats, and black leather jackets,Sam,Alejandro,Mike,Dylan, and JaRon certainly looked the part of a modern day jazz band. Their big smiles and relaxed presence made them look at home, like a group of friends gathering for lunch and a jam sesh.

In preparation for our second Café con Siete, we looked to the Austin community for local talent. A headline caught our attention: “Is Austin Still the Live Music Capital of the World?” In the article was a video of Sam and Alejandro, two young, hip, fresh artists from different backgrounds coming together in the name of music—and having a good time doing it, too. We loved it.

Music has been and remains an integral part of our family culture. With the goal of encouraging the community that creates soundtracks for our daily life, we humbly hope to support their journeys as musicians. Even if it’s just inviting them over for coffee, lunch and small gig with our Siete familia. Juntos es Mejor.

So, when Sam asked us to snap along to the first of their jazzy soul songs, “Lovely,” it was—well—so lovely. “What You Waiting For,” was an equally lovely, more sultry song. Their heads bobbed in unison and the music flowed like a ballad. They rounded out their performance with an untitled song that they only play live, which they unofficially call “The Cali Groove.” And a groove it was; seven minutes of stellar solos and silky-smooth Santana vibes from Alejandro on the guitar. When he dropped his sunglasses as though they were a mic at near the end, it was a very fitting end to the performance.

Until we realized we didn’t hit “record.” Oops.

On the second (gracious!) take, when Sam asked us to join in and said, “Oh, y’all know it this time, yeah, yeah,” it felt like an inside joke; like the fourth wall was down and the butterflies settled. Como familia. Sam aced all the high-notes, and we hope we did the same for him, especially since it was his birthday. Cupcakes, a few candles, and a birthday serenade followed their performance, and it was what we consider a very, very fun day.

We will be keeping our eyes and ears out for the release ofSam’s project in January 2019, but until then,we encourage you towatch our new amigos on repeat—we certainly will!