Samantha Crain hails from Oklahoma, the state that birthed both The Flaming Lips and Woody Guthrie; she writes with both the brazen conviction of the latter and the unflinching creative ambition of the former. Hers is a folks tradition indebted to Radiohead as much as Bob Dylan, and a literary sense more in keeping with Carson McCullers than her songwriting contemporaries. Crain is earthy and spiritual, able to convey hope YET unafraid to confront despair. Her sound is deeply rural and southern; itinerant and urban. Lyrics of disaster and dark times peacefully coexist with anthems of community and reconciliation.
This young Choctaw singer-songwriter is no stranger to the road and to making things happen for herself: Crain completed dozens of self-releases and several national tours before signing to Ramseur and a national booking agency. She has already developed the unique sound and old soul sensibility that colors her slightly eerie songs, collected as a musical novella on her EP The Confiscation (out July 22 on Ramseur Records, home to the Avett Brothers, the everybodyfields, and others...)