September 25, 2019
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He’s collaborated and played with the likes of Chris Stapleton, John Prine and Kacey Musgraves and he’s coming to Smithville Saturday night.
Singer-songwriter Sam Lewis will be appearing at Bert Driver Nursery’s Burlap Room Beer Garden and Taphouse Saturday at 7 p.m.
Lewis, who earned an opening slot on country megastar Chris Stapleton’s Traveller tour, is known for his soulful vocals and introspective songwriting. Stapleton once called him “a modern day Townes Van Zandt.”
“Most of what I do kind of fits in the Americana genre, which has become very popular over the last 20 years,” he said in a recent interview. “It’s just a blend. They are really just songs. Sometimes they can sound a bit traditional country or folky, bluesy, and there are a lot of R&B influences in what I do but overall I call it soul music.”
Lewis grew up in North Carolina and moved to Nashville in 2009 to pursue his music career.
“I realized pretty quickly I needed to probably write and record my own music as much as possible and to tour that music,” he said. “I have done different types of writing and I am just now getting back into the co-writing world of things in Nashville. I had a difficult time [at first] navigating the co-writing experience and now I have a bit more understanding as to what I am comfortable with in lending that type of help in the song crafting scheme of things.”
Lewis said he tours about 150-160 days a year.
“The further I get away from Nashville the more I play solo, but I have bands and I am bringing a four-piece band to Smithville with fellows I have played with over the years,” he said. “I have a duo show, a trio show. That’s the beautiful thing about shows. You can play them a lot of different ways.”
But songwriting is still his first love.
“Writing tops performing for me,” he added. “I don’t think I would be that inclined to perform without having that writing attachment element to it. But performing is fun. I enjoy being able to take folks somewhere for just a little while. But I don’t think I could live without the songwriting. It’s a big part of who I am.”
More information about Lewis and his albums can be found at www.samlewistunes.com