Samuel Gaskin is an award-winning artist, musician, songwriter, and actor based in Naarm (Melbourne). Born in Aotearoa and raised in Melbourne, Samuel has moved beyond chasing stardom to create spaces where communities feel seen, safe, and celebrated, blending ancestral knowledge, culture, and connection to ancestors, with pop culture flair and a deep sense of joy through everything he makes.
Samuel began his career as a commercial dancer, touring the country backing artists including Ricki-Lee Coulter, Jessica Mauboy, and Guy Sebastian, before stepping out as an artist in his own right with his acclaimed single RECKŌNING.
Samuel is co-founder, with husband Johnny Hamilton, of Beat Entertainment, a queer BIPOC led and focused company making work that resonates with their communities, and is the creator of AUNTY, a part cabaret, part celebration show featuring some of the country’s fiercest First Nations talent.
Samuel joins Ricki Spencer for a warm and wide-ranging conversation about how music and movement shape our wellbeing, growing up fabulously black and queer in Australia, connecting to culture and ancestors through his art, the choice to centre joy rather than trauma, and the new music and theatre projects on his horizon, including his debut album and a new play.