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NASHVILLE: This week’s Nashville Pick is Sam Varga and his new song Long Way Back. Nashville-based artist, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Sam Varga delivers a powerful emotional blow with his new single, “Long Way Back,” a stripped-down, mandolin-laced journey through the disorientation of staying too long in the wrong love.
Fusing his emo roots with Southern textures and sharp lyrical clarity, “Long Way Back” unfolds as a raw, reflective ballad full of late-night regret and hard-won wisdom. The track marks Varga’s first release since his 2024 debut album Shadow Work, a project that carved his name into the alt-country landscape with its punk spirit and confessional storytelling.
“I was with someone special for a long time, but deep down, I always knew it wasn’t right,” Varga shares. “One day, you wake up miserable, wondering how you got there. I think we’ve all been in something we knew wasn’t for us. The longer you stay, the harder it is to leave, and the longer it takes to find your way back. It’s like missing your exit on the highway and watching it disappear in the rearview, getting further and further away. Eventually, you have to tear yourself away to save yourself.”
Varga’s sound remains rooted in contradiction—emo energy meets Americana heart, punk edge softened by acoustic textures. Originally from Louisville, KY, he cut his teeth in the city’s underground emo scene, raised on loud guitars, basement shows, and the ’80s rock and Southern legends playing in his parents’ house. The result is a sonic identity that feels both nostalgic and brand new.
His songs have become anthems for the emotionally untethered, those navigating heartbreak, existential spirals, and the long drive toward clarity. “Long Way Back” distills that ethos: emotionally unfiltered, self-aware, and sonically compelling.
Following the critical acclaim of Shadow Work, Varga continues to define his own lane within Nashville’s evolving music scene—where the walls between country, rock, and emo are beginning to blur. With “Long Way Back,” he doesn’t just toe that line—he redraws it.
Follow Sam Varga:
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PR Inquiries:
Ava Tunnicliffe @ Tallulah PR
ava@tallulahprmgmt.com
There is so much talent that resides in Nashville along with many artists that visit Music City just trying to be heard, seen and hopefully discovered. If you would like your song or video to be considered for our Nashville Picks, submit it using our Nashville Picks form:
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