Sam Dull Beaner's Central

Sam Dull, Rockin’ the bumper off!

By: Andrew Olson

Reader Weekly (Duluth,MN)

When Sam Dull was telling a story that his friend Stephanie Dykema had told that day it captured the journey of a young musician. She told him before the show to, not rock it too hard or the bumper would fall off. After Sam Dull’s show at Beaner’s Central on Sunday night he better make sure the bumper is secure, he has an open road ahead!

Sam Dull works for Beaner’s Central, which gives him the opportunity to open for National acts when they pass through Duluth. He has played Pizza Luce and other venues as his audience and talent continues to grow. Originally from Le Sueur he moved with his family to Duluth about three years ago. He has played the guitar for over six years and is writing a new kind of music.

When asked what kind of music he plays he leaves it to the listener to describe. He is modest and gives influences like The Counting Crows and James Taylor, among others, credit for his vision. He also tells about his living room/garage ensemble called Brush Strokes with Dave Mehling and Stephanie Dykema giving him musical inspiration. He is not old enough to get into bars like The Tap Room, but his sound is something that transgresses time or age. He is something new.

When entering Beaner’s Central, the nicest coffee shop anyone might see outside of the big franchise monsters, one sees it has an intimate setting. The young crowd was sitting in rows of chairs while the older crowd sipped wine at the counter (several reading the Reader Weekly!). The young people know each other, but file in one by one showing loyalty in hitting the town alone. They all have a common goal when they come to the establishment music. This night had Sam opening for 56 Hope Road, a jazzy band from Chicago, Illinois. They had several members and an elaborate set that reflected the acoustic driven funk they were presenting. Sam took the stage first though and had the audience watching in front and a giant mural of greats like Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Louis Armstrong, Patsy Cline and Elvis watching over from his back.

He opened the show with an excellent folk inspired song called "Cold November". He was dressed in tattered pants, a red plaid flannel, fully grown beard, and a bandanna. He looked much older on stage and his voice already had the low whispering tone of a road weary troubadour. His casualness didn’t reflect his songwriting, which was strong.

His next two songs had no name yet, but were fresh and intuitive. They stayed on a folk trend, but mixed in sounds of Dave Matthews and Irish flavor. It is hard to describe his music as it is different from anything out there today. The song "Old Man" was a show stopper. It was softer, blowing in a sweet, hushed toned intimacy from the North. He captured the audience on that slow number and didn’t let them go the rest of the evening.

Another great piece of writing was "You Don’t Know", a definite hit with splashes of Pink Floyd’s "Wish You Were Here". From there he rolled into "Walk Down", a great number that mixed English groups like Blur and Oasis with Lake Superior youth. It was more rock when Sam opened the song up and had a few breaks to catch the audience and pull them back in. The last few songs moved from folky early seventies country to Neil Young and great poetry. Sam mixes great fundamentals on the guitar with strong writing skills. By the end of his set the crowd was mesmerized by this lone artist and his guitar.

Sam’s musical journey on stage is at the beginning of the trip. He has what it takes to become a great artist and musician and it will be interesting to watch him grow and mature on stages around Duluth. We can only hope that the bumper is secure, because nothing appears to be able to stop him.