Sam Smith Releases Cover For “Ain’t No Sunshine” & More
Today, multi-Platinum, GRAMMY®, BRIT, Golden Globe, and Oscar-winning artist and songwriter Sam Smith announces, “To Be Free: San Francisco,” an eight-night residency at the Castro Theatre, a designated landmark in the heart of the city’s LGTBQ+ cultural epicenter. Kicking off February 10, 2026, Sam’s rare, up-close performances will officially ring in the venue’s eagerly awaited reopening following two years of renovations. To mark the announcement, Sam has shared a soul-stirring cover of the 1971 Bill Withers classic “Ain’t No Sunshine” set to a video filmed at the beloved theater and in the surrounding Castro District.
The series is a continuation of Sam’s upcoming residency “To Be Free: New York City,” which begins on October 8 at Brooklyn’s historic Warsaw club. With the New York City residency kicking off next week, Sam is appearing tonight on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert for a sit-down interview. They’ll also return to the show tomorrow night, Wednesday, October 1, as the featured musical guest. The initial run of 12 shows for “To Be Free: New York City” sold out immediately, prompting Sam to add 12 additional dates at the intimate venue stretching into November and December.
Sam’s cover of “Ain’t No Sunshine” is both stunningly beautiful and rich with meaning. Over raw acoustic guitar, they begin the song: “Ain’t no sunshine when he’s gone / It’s not warm when he’s away.” With their unmistakable voice, Sam gives a haunting performance that captures the chill of loneliness, while the accompanying video brings immense warmth. We first see Sam inside of the Castro Theatre, scaffolding still in place. Soon, we’re out on the streets of the Castro District, meeting friendly faces from the community. By the end, Sam has led a small celebratory parade of folks to the iconic theater marquee, and stepped into the box office to tear tickets themself.
Said Sam Smith, “ I LOVE San Francisco and The Castro especially has been so central to the Queer community here over the years. These shows will also celebrate the official reopening, so it’s truly an honour to become part of this iconic venue’s history.”
Both residencies take their name from Sam’s soaring new single, “To Be Free.” The soulful acoustic song, which explores how vulnerability can unlock bravery and freedom, includes moving vocals by The TwoCity Chorus and came with a joyous, (LA)HORDE-directed music video filmed at Warsaw — watch HERE. The song has since earned critical praise from The New York Times, Rolling Stone (“Sam Smith feels light as a feather”), Billboard (“one of their most striking songs in years”), and Stereogum (“heartstring-pulling … immensely powerful”), among others.
Sam recently shared their thoughts on the song, which was produced by Sam and Simon Aldred: “I’ve never had a recording experience like I did making this song. It’s one vocal-and-guitar take from start to finish — one live performance of me and my friend Simon in a pure state of music and expression. I wrote it five years ago while writing my last album, Gloria, and then parked it because I knew it was not a song for that album. It was created during a time in my life where I became free within myself. Over the last five years, Simon and I started to create music that fit into this world of ‘To Be Free’ and during this time, I’ve continued to turn to this song in happy moments, sad moments, lonely moments, and angry moments. It’s become my sister, my family member, and it ultimately calms me. Hopefully, it can do the same for someone else.”
Another Planet Entertainment’s The Castro will be a fittingly timeless home for the West Coast installment of the To Be Free series. Built as a movie palace in 1922 with an interior designed by one of San Francisco’s most prominent architects, Timothy Pfleuger, the captivating space swirls up an array of worldly influences and includes stunning original artwork on the ceilings, famous sgraffito murals along the walls, and an ornate chandelier, among other features. All of that has been restored as part of a $40 million rehabilitation project that’s also opened the venue up for standing-room music performances and facilitated the installation of “the world’s largest and most versatile digital organ.”
Sam Smith is one of the most celebrated musical artists to emerge in recent history. A five-time GRAMMY® winner, Sam holds two Guinness World Records — one for the most consecutive weeks in the U.K. Top 10 Album Chart (with their 2014 debut In the Lonely Hour), and one for having the first James Bond theme to reach No.1 on the U.K. charts (the Oscar and Golden Globe-winning “Writing’s on the Wall”). Sam has amassed over 40 million equivalent album sales, 300 million single sales, and over 56 billion career streams across their catalog of critically acclaimed albums: In the Lonely Hour, The Thrill of It All, Love Goes, and Gloria, which Rolling Stone praised as “their deepest album yet” and includes the global smash “Unholy” featuring Kim Petras. The track spent three weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and four weeks at No. 1 on the UK Official Singles Chart, making it Sam’s eighth to top the tally. In June 2025, Sam released the stunning live album BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall. Check out more on Sam Smith here.
Sam Smith – “To Be Free: New York City” 2025 Warsaw Residency Dates
Wednesday, October 8
Friday, October 10
Saturday, October 11
Wednesday, October 15
Friday, October 17
Saturday, October 18
Tuesday, October 21
Wednesday, October 22
Friday, October 24
Wednesday, October 29
Thursday, October 30
Friday, October 31
Wednesday, November 19
Friday, November 21
Saturday, November 22
Wednesday, November 26
Friday, November 28
Saturday, November 29
Wednesday, December 3
Friday, December 5
Saturday, December 6
Wednesday, December 10
Friday December 12
Saturday December 13
Sam Smith – “To Be Free: San Francisco” 2026 Castro Theatre Residency Dates
Tuesday, February 10
Wednesday, February 11
Friday, February 13
Saturday, February 14
Tuesday, February 17
Wednesday, February 18
Friday, February 20
Saturday, February 21