It's easy to celebrate artists like Sam Grow. Since I discovered Sam years ago with his single "The Blame", I quickly identified his authentic, no bullshit love for music and how intentional he is with every single and album release. Real songs and real experiences… This entire interview displays Sam's genuine approach as a creative, and takes you inside his knowledge and thought process of navigating a tricky and complicated industry. To me, Sam Grow is one of the most talented artists in today's country genre, and even with all of his success, he is still one of the most underrated artists in country music. I admire Sam for his approach, having integrity, creating music based on real life experiences, and never chasing the money or fame - that's what creating music is supposed to be about, right?
I sat down with Sam Grow and talked about his single "Lying In Church", the vital individuals who helped mold his music career, and the number one key to finding success in the music industry. Take a deep dive into the life and music career of Sam Grow and how he separates himself as a top tier artist in country music.
Get To Know Sam
"I was born in a little hospital in La Plata, Maryland. My dad was a lineman; he worked on power lines across the country. He later had to take a job in Winfield, Kansas. So from 5 years old to 12 years old, I moved with him to Winfield and oddly enough, that's what this album is going to be called. I'm making an album about that time in my life. My dad ended up back in Maryland where he originally worked and finished up there and retired.
I had graduated and was on the road playing by 17. 250 dates a year, every year. I did exactly what I wanted to do. When I was 5 years old and sang for the first time at church, I knew I wanted to sing music for people. I just loved it. When I was living in Winfield, there was a music festival called the Walnut Music Festival, which is one of the biggest Bluegrass music festivals in the country. I remember every year being 6 or 7 years old, and going and watching Allison Kraus & Union Station, John McCutcheon, and all these different players and I heard their stories as a young kid and listened to their songs they wrote. So when I was about 10 years old, I started writing my own songs, and I've been addicted to it ever since and it's all I've ever done.
I moved to Tennessee in 2014. I had been playing Nashville for quite a few years. Even as a teenager, I would play places like The Rutledge and Douglas Corner before I was old enough to drink. At one point my bass player, Gene, who I started my co-writes with, told me I should try and take a swing in Nashville. He sent out about 75 emails to different producers in town. One producer reached back out and said he wanted to work with me. His name was Matt McClure. He produced Lee Brice and a whole bunch of other artists. We played this real shitty show in Nashville. I think it was at 1PM on a Tuesday. As we were getting into town, Gene said to text Matt and I said "He's not going to come to this…" Well he actually came and brought his wife, watched the show, and asked if I could stay for two days.
He took me over to Ole and Anthem publishing and sat down in the room with John Ozier the Vice President, Gilles Godard the President, and Ben Strain the Creative Director. I sang a song and they offered me a publishing deal on the spot and put a napkin in front of me to sign and Matt (McClure) said "Hold up, I want to take you to one more place," and he took me across the street to Curb Publishing. That's where Drew Alexander, God rest his soul, he's passed away now,was running the publishing company over there, and when I sang he also offered me a job on the spot. It ended up being a bidding war back and forth, and I didn't have a lawyer at the time either. Within 2 weeks I had signed one of the highest paying publishing deals in town and I had never been in town before. I moved to town and after that I had every major label in town come out and watch me at a showcase. I had deals from all of them. I never creatively felt comfortable with anyone I sat down with. As quickly as they all loved me, they didn't like me. I was okay with that.
A blessing for me, John Marks found me when he was still at SiriusXM. He picked up my song "The Blame," and he started playing it like crazy. It became one of the longest running "On the Horizon" songs on SiriusXM. I reached out to John. He had left Sirius and went to Spotify. I continually started bugging him about getting on the "New Boots" playlist and being on the streaming platforms. He was curious why I cared and I responded with “1. This is how I listen to music and 2. You're there so I know it's the future."John and I then became really good friends, and as a mentor, he taught me how to release music and play the algorithm of what was the new wave of what kids were listening to. I then became more invested in DSPs (Digital Service Providers) and the independent route.
I dropped an album and it happened to be the same day Montgomery Gentry dropped an album, and I beat them on the charts. Average Joe's started contacting me about records and different stuff, and strategically Colt Ford started having me out to play some shows. During a show in Virginia, he came out and watched me play. As soon as I finished, he invited me to the bus and sat down and said "I know you have a thing with record labels, I get it, but you need to be with Average Joe's," and I responded with "I'm not really chasing that kind of thing." He understood and said "It’s no radio gimmicks, none of that stuff, you just tell me what you want on your deal and I'll honor it. I just think more people should hear your music." They really showed me how interested they were, so I played a showcase over at Average Joe's, and they honored all the points I wanted in my record deal."
Write what you live...
You know a song is special when it stops you in your tracks and instantly pulls you into the story. Sam Grow has an elite and special talent of transferring his raw emotion and talent, and shocks your heart, whether what he's singing is relatable to you or not. I have so much respect and admiration when an artist opens up and shares deep rooted experiences with the world. "Lying in Church" takes an inside look at childhood trauma and contradictory ways of living growing up. As you grow older and wiser you are able to take a look back and realize the severity of different experiences you've lived and how they impact your emotions and habits as you grow older. Sam hits the train head on with reliving painful experiences that are relatable to so many people and have made an imprint on their lives. ‘Lying in Church,” is a breathtaking and powerful song that deserves your undivided attention. It really showcases Sam Grow's genius as a songwriter and artist.
Inspiration Behind "Lying In Church"
Written By: Sam Grow, Produced By: Sam Grow
"Since the "This Town" record, all my records have been concept records. I travel places and write records there. Winfield like I said, I grew up there from 5 - 12 years old. It was the time in my life where my parents were together and then started to split. I'm in a different place in my life now. I'm happily married with a baby boy and we have kids. It's a different perspective of my life and I felt like I'm in a new headspace where I could analyze, in perspective, what my parents were going through.
I wrote "Lying In Church" by myself. It's 100% a true story of me going to that little church in Winfield. Vividly remembering my parents arguing in the morning and having to go to church on Sunday soon after, having to act like it never happened. I've realized as I've gotten older this isn't a unique story - a lot of people have lived that and are tied up in that tension of religion and faith, and are watching some fucked up shit at home, but the parents are preaching about following God and they aren't necessarily following what they are saying. I wrote it from my perspective as a then 7 year old kid and what I was seeing and living."
Q & A With Sam Grow
Q: What was that "light bulb" moment you knew you wanted to pursue music as a career?
A: "My dad had me get up in church at 5 years old and sing "Amazing Grace." The first time I was too chicken to do it, and the next Sunday I sang and people clapped at the end and I just thought, ‘This is awesome.’”
What cemented it for me was my dad being a big influence. He had this little bar he would go to every single Wednesday after work; it was an old school honky tonk and it had beat-to-shit jukeboxes in there. He asked the bartender if I could come in and sing songs on Wednesday nights. I was 14 years old,I would sing and they would tip me. I loved the feeling of performing for people in an environment like that where you could connect with the people and they could feel what I was singing, and it could affect their mood.I've been addicted ever since."
Q: What advice do you have for young artists and songwriters coming up?
A: "There's a difference between an artist who's doing it for likes, followers, and to be famous, and those who have a burning on their inside without a shadow of a doubt, rich, poor, well known or not, they want to get up everyday and sing and write songs. My advice would be if you are doing this to get famous, quit now. There’s no light at the end of the tunnel with that kind of path. If you're an artist whose burning passion is genuinely creating music, hold on to that shit as tight as you can and never let go because you are meant to do it and your story and scaling is different than anyone else's, and it doesn't mean you're supposed to quit because your story is different than someone else's. That's my biggest advice.
I think what completely alters someone's path is when they do come to Nashville and try to align their story with monetary reasoning. That's what fucks up a story more than anything. Money isn’t just a tool, it's one of a man's biggest enemies. If your motivation is solely money, that path never leads to anything good. Do music because of why you started in the first place. And that's not just for music, that goes for anything in life."
Q: When I think of Sam Grow I think of authenticity. What has been your recipe for success from the beginning of your career until now?
A: "We are really blessed that this genre (country music) is a genre that the fans can sum up in about 5 seconds if you're full of shit or not. I just knew that whatever I was singing or writing, I better have experienced it. So when someone comes up and talks to me about a specific song or situation, I'm not full of shit talking about it. I can't tell you the amount of conversations I've had about "The Blame" where I'm blatantly calling myself an asshole and another guy comes up relating to that song and asks me about my experience.I'm thankful every time I have a real moment and can tell my truth. Music is the most intimate thing you can do ever. Nowadays with so many options, if someone has a 20 minute drive and they take the time to type your name into that search bar or add you to a playlist and give 3 minutes of their life, that's the best thing someone can do. If they are going to allow me to speak to them for 3 minutes, I can't bullshit them. I better be singing about something real and relatable or I'm missing my calling as an artist and musician."
Q: What have been some highs and lows in your career that have made a major impact on you?
A: "My story of highs and lows are completely linear. I had my first little girl when I was 20 years old and was immediately faced with the fork in the road of “Do I be a guy that works on power lines and has a steady job and be around my kid, or the guy who chases a dream and tries to make it happen for my kid?" I obviously chose the long route. My lows were the constant FaceTime calls and constant time away from my kid and the value of time. Especially as I get older, this is the most valuable currency over money and everything else is time. Missing that was a low point for me, but in the same breath, on November 27th, 2021 I played the Grand Ole Opry and made my Opry debut. My daughter was there. We went out to lunch before and she got to watch me play. We sat there and she said, "Dad, I know how hard you had to work in this business and I know the time you had to be away from me when you did it. I just want to let you know how proud of you I am. You did it." That was the biggest moment of my life. I say my two biggest memories of the Opry was my boot crossing into the circle and when they raised the house lights, the first eye contact I made with my little girl while I was on stage. That is a full circle high/low moment and it always will be."
If you are just discovering Sam Grow follow him on Apple Music, Spotify, Instagram, Facebook and Tik Tok
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