Sammy Haig Contributes to Music By World-Famous Artists From Right Here in Cleveland

You might hear Sammy Haig’s playful trumpet and flugelhorn performance on Meghan Trainor and Paul Russell’s upbeat track “Slippin,’” or his careful, bassy production on Trippie Redd’s “LGLG,” or his piano riffs on Kaliii’s “FCK GIRL SZN.” And you can also hear his composition and performance skills coalesce on his 2021 EP Cucumber.

The Solon native ticks off other impressive collaborations, including Tyler, The Creator, Gunna and DJ Drama, in his musical resume. Through writing, creating and sharing ideas with other artists, Haig was able to bring his musical talent to the forefront for some of the world’s biggest artists. Although he hasn’t met these artists personally, his role in their production is anything but small.

His work in music started early, learning piano at the young age of eight years old. Haig says he knew his love for music would only grow deeper — especially while growing up around his musically talented siblings: two brothers who played the violin and saxophone, respectively.

“I guess I started music because I was jealous of [my brothers],” Haig says jokingly.

Haig recalls walking around the house singing and watching his brothers perform, inspiring him to pursue his own path to music.  “But I also was gravitating towards [music]. And then when I started doing lessons and everything like that, I took it very seriously, just naturally.”

But more so than playing the instrument, Haig loved listening to music and focused on how music could make people feel and how it painted their lives. His love for music grew as he began listening to his brother’s iPod where he discovered various genres including electronic, ska and punk which then led to his interest in trumpet, pop and jazz.

“I just really love music, and I think more so than playing instruments, it was listening that was the biggest influence on me,” Haig says. “It was just a constant soundtrack to my life and my way to process everything that I was going through or any situation.”

Haig continued to pursue his passion at Indiana University, where he studied jazz music and honed his skills in music production. At the height of the pandemic, Haig posted a video of himself on TikTok playing the trumpet in a tunnel. The video — which received over 2 million likes — was part of a six-song project for his final college project.  The viral video unexpectedly led to him gaining more outreach. 

But Haig soon realized that the constant need to create and push content on TikTok wasn’t sustainable, leading him to reconsider his career path. 

“I learned that I wasn’t a content creator. I just want to write music,” Haig says.

And he’s done just that, both in his solo creations and through his significant collaborations. Last month, Haig released an EDM song called “Chasing Ghosts” with trumpet player Timmy Trumpet and band Cheat Codes. He also produced a song, titled “FLY 2 YOU,” on Los Angeles-based rapper DC The Don’s album REBIRTH. 

Next, Haig hopes to work more closely with local artists in Cleveland.

“When I did my own projects, I was truly feeling like I took everything I had learned within my jazz degree and applied it to this sort of nostalgic, pop feeling that I envisioned in my head,” says Haig. “And that was like a really satisfying feeling for me to blend the two with whatever was going on in my brain.”

In the future, Haig hopes to build stronger connections within Cleveland’s music scene, and to highlight how unexpectedly connected the music industry can be — even in the hit songs you might hear on the radio.

“The music world is so connected right now, and it's really cool that I can work within the mainstream music industry from Cleveland a lot of the time,” Haig says. “Music is so much more connected than what you're hearing when you hear a mainstream song; you might be hearing somebody from anywhere in the world.”

For more updates about Cleveland, sign up for our Cleveland Magazine Daily newsletter, delivered to your inbox six times a week.