Pouring His love into his music
Sam Carlson – pouring love into his music
Sam Carlson is from Pottstown Pennsylvania, located about 60 miles from Philadelphia. His mother played piano and taught him to sing in the church choir. Both parents loved music. They live near the home of the Philadelphia Folk Festival and would often travel to concerts.
Sam started to play guitar when he was 14 years old. One of his father’s friends taught him basic chords and a few rock power chords. He didn’t really connect with the power chords but was drawn to the more mellow music like that of singer-songwriter Jack Johnson.
After graduation from Muhlenberg College in Allentown, PA in 2013, Sam lived in Dorchester, MA and worked with AmeriCorps from 2014-2015. During his first year, he worked with third graders that were from all over the world. Later, he worked with first graders with similar backgrounds. They helped Sam become part of the local community of Cape Verdeans, Haitians, and other island nations. Their cultures were full of music. Sam would strum chords and his students would make up songs – they would be silly and have fun.
Sam met people that worked with the Outward Bound program on Thompson Island, an island in the Dorchester Bay section of Boston Harbor. He began working there seasonally with middle school students. One of his fellow workers taught him traditional music, seafaring music, and how to sing harmonies. They would go to the Boston Commons and busk.
His first solo paid gig happened after an open mic session. He opened for The Whiskey Hickon Boys. In 2017, he went on a musical road trip and was advised by a good friend to check out New Orleans and then find The Happy Dog band in Key West.
Arriving Key West in March, 2017, Sam quickly made friends and began looking for gigs. He connected with Jesse Wagner and Happy Dog at the Salty Angler. Wagner, another Pennsylvania talent, became a mentor to Sam. At the Salty Angler gig, Sam met Angela Byerly and found a place to stay which led to a connection with Blue Heaven.
One day while looking for gigs with his hard-shell guitar case, Sam walked passed Captain Tony’s. Raven Cooper was playing music and saw the guitar case. She invited Sam on the stage while she took a break. Raven live-streamed Sam’s second song on Facebook. He credits this streaming event for his first break into the Key West music scene.
Jerrod Isaman saw the live streaming and immediately connected with Sam. They became friends – Sam says this door opened and he walked through it. He credits Jerrod with sharing his vision of the big picture in Key West. Jerrod taught Sam the difference between playing songs and pouring love into his music. Sam doesn’t feel that Jerrod has ever played a song that he doesn’t love to play. In 2018, Sam began performing with Jerrod’s group, Billy the Squid and the Sea Cow Drifters.
Carlson connected with True Grit Management, a music management group in El Paso, Texas. In late 2018, he moved to Texas. He recorded an album at Sonic Ranch in El Paso, but the release was delayed. After the COVID shutdown, it still hadn’t been released and Sam was unhappy. He didn’t feel he was being his best self so he returned to Key West and decided to record his own album. In September, 2024, the album, Second Hand, was released. He recorded ten songs with Keith Banning and Cayman Smith-Martin at DePoo Sound. He recorded “Come On Home”, the same song he played with The Whiskey Hickon Boys in 2016. He now has his own production company, Sam Carlson Sound, and is working on a second album, Any Minute Now, which is to be recorded later this year in Weaverville, N.C.
In 2024, Carlson was the recipient of the first Ann McKee Artist Fund Joint Performance Grant. In March 2025, he performed to a sold-out concert at the Tennessee William Theater Cabaret. It was a great success. A second Ann McKee Artist Fund Joint Performance Grant was recently awarded and will be performed by Belle Jampol in 2026.
Sam feels the Key West music scene has a growing number of musical artists that find themselves playing multiple times a day and becoming more entertainers that tend to leave their musical art behind.
He supports the Petronia Street music corridor of Blue Heaven, Andy’s Cabana, and the VIV Wine Bistro, and the historic Post 168 American Legion Hall on Emma Street. He feels it’s becoming a music cultural phenomena that revolves around original music. Blue Heaven strongly supports and encourages the use of original songs. Green Parrot and Schooner Wharf also help promote original music as do many other venues.
Sam Carlson music is listed on his website: https://www.samcarlsonsound.com
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