Minneapolis Singer-Songwriter Samuel Wilbur Drops World Premiere Video & Powerful New Single

Released TODAY Fight This & Social Security Number

Minneapolis based singer-songwriter Samuel Wilbur drops a powerful new single Fight This inspired by his communities struggle and resilience. We absolutely love his world premiere video, the timely and relevant, Social Security Number (Ft. Dani Michaele) from his soul-stirring album Ivory Tower! Social Security Number is a darkly satirical song about digital surveillance, and the slow death of personal privacy. It’s a paranoid anthem for anyone feeling watched in the age of algorithms and AI.

Wilbur, who balances his life as a high school social studies teacher with his work as a musician, has long infused his art with thought-provoking themes. Known for lush harmonies, sharp melodic hooks and incisive lyrical storytelling, Wilbur’s music confronts issues including climate change, the rise of the fascism, and holding on to hope.

Fight This, was written on New Year’s Day after an encounter with a federal ICE Agent patrolling Wilbur’s neighborhood. The song’s instrumentation and lyrics continued to evolve alongside an intensifying rise of cruelty and terror inflicted upon the great people of Minneapolis, including the abduction, detainment, and deportation of a student in Wilbur’s class. The song serves as a rallying cry and a space for solace as communities organize, resist, and advocate for change.

Collaborators from the Twin Cities and beyond

The track brings together an extraordinary lineup of collaborators from the Twin Cities and beyond: Anna Hare (Third Date) on viola, Nathan Johnston (Fairy Boat, Ghosting Merit, Ditch Pigeon) on bass, Hank Donato (Beemer) on piano and organ, Bryan Highhill (Lumpy) on trumpet, UK singer-songwriter Lysney Tibbs on vocals, and Chilean percussionist Gonzalo E. on drums. The final version of Fight This was recorded on January 24 at Casino Time Recording Studio in Minneapolis, one day after the largest general strike since the 1940s and just hours after Alex Pretti was killed by ICE agents. The song was mixed and mastered by McCoy Seitz at Casino Time Recording Studio, capturing the urgency, grief, and defiance of the moment.

“All art is born of its time,” Wilbur said. “Fight This is my musical contribution to the spirit of community advocacy and collective resilience we’ve witnessed in Minneapolis and across the country. Our city has shown it will not bend at the knee to facism, and I am so inspired by everyone who is doing their part to fight this.”

All proceeds from Fight This will be donated to the family of Jairo Pitalasig, a high school senior and beloved student in Wilbur’s classroom who was recently detained and deported by ICE.

You can read more about his harrowing journey HERE. Please donate directly to his family HERE.

Link to BUY the new Single: Fight This
https://samuelwilbur.bandcamp.com/track/fight-this

Social Security Number

Social Security Number (Ft. Dani Michaele) is the second track on Ivory Tower, whose concept is prescient and impossible to ignore. This history teacher delivers powerful lessons through his music that are accessible, resonant, and bound to strike a chord with anyone who is paying attention.

Fueled by the success of his 2024 Album, The Age, Wilbur channeled his environmental anxieties into a focused 13-track concept album. Ivory Tower reflects on life in modern day America, where the rise of the billionaire ruling class opens its doors to fascism while invasive technology and ubiquitous AI accelerate the global climate crisis. Wilbur combats these threats with 90’s guitar riffs, haunting strings, anthemic trumpets, and powerful lyrics that inspire action. A sweeping, urgent indie rock opera, Ivory Tower is Samuel Wilbur’s most ambitious project to date.

A true global collaboration; Wilbur recorded this album across four continents with his favorite artists around the world and at home. The album also features standouts from Minnesota’s vibrant music community, including 5 songs with the electric vocalist Meghan Kreidler of Kiss the Tiger, powerhouse producers Andy Thompson and Matt Patrick, vocals from Minnesota’s Best New Band, Kiernan, and groove-rich basslines from Ian Martin Allison.

***KEY TRACKS from *Ivory Tower****

“Ivory Tower” – The title track takes aim at the illusion of leadership and inherited power. Ivory Tower exposes the emotional cost and frustration of watching the gatekeepers in power stall progress and maintain the status quo.

“Once Again the World Let You Down” – An emotionally raw ballad about disillusionment, burnout, and betrayal. The song reckons with a world that twists truth and rewards the wrong people.

“Social Security Number” – Is a darkly satirical song about digital surveillance, and the slow death of personal privacy. It’s a paranoid anthem for anyone feeling watched in the age of algorithms and AI.

“Everything is Falling Apart” – Is a tender, apocalyptic love song that asks what it means to hold onto hope when everything else is unraveling.

Check out Samuel Wilbur’s work we think you’ll dig it. Please be sure to share it everywhere, because sharing music creates bonds that last lifetimes, turning strangers into friends… and in these troubled times, we call that something sacred.