Artist description With sounds from high folk to big funk, Sam Payne is a storyteller of the first order, each yarn spun through a voice as clean as a desert sky.

Music Style Folky lyrical pop

Musical Influences Bob Dylan, Dave Matthews, Thomas Dolby, David Wilcox, James Taylor

Similar Artists Dave Matthews, David Wilcox, James Taylor

Artist History A spin of Sam Payne's "Railroad Blessing" is like walking into a party where everyone stops to look, all itching to talk to you (it's why they came, after all). It's quite a crew, too. And with a menu like this, who's gonna be first? There's an American astronaut, fresh from five months aboard the doomed Space Station Mir. Space was great, but it's lonely up there. There's Erik Weihenmayer, the first blind climber to summit Everest. Some think that sort of a climb is something like marriage. Other's think it's more like rehab. Or what about that old guy in the corner? His son is suiting up for war. Dad's a patriot, but he prays that the country won't squander that young life. It's the biggest gift the old man can give, after all. The girl by the window was just given the brush-off by a guy in the woods who used the old "I'd marry you but I've actually been raised from a baby to be a sacrifice to Mother Earth to ensure a bountiful harvest" line. She's thinking about going back to him anyway. Those two talking in solemn tones at the table are twins. Used to hate each other. Their names are Jacob and Esau. There's a table full of priests, frowning as they watch a rocket take off on television. In the center of the room is a coffin, inhabited by a guy who slid so quietly out of this life that a lot of people didn't notice. Not like him to miss a gathering like this.

Instruments Guitar, Bass, Strings, Drums, Trumpet, Saxophone

Albums Railroad Blessing

Press Reviews Here's what folks who've been to the party already are saying about it: "Payne is one of those few musicians who can successfully combine both songwriting and stage performing. He can write poignant and meaningful lyrics, combine them with a melodic hook, and perform them in a voice that makes you want to close your eyes and drift away." -The Spectrum "Payne delivers his riveting folktales with passion, emotionally stirring hooks, and an almost supernatural ability to tell a story."  -Kevin Jones, "The Independent" magazine "Listening to the lyrics--that song about his grandfather; Holy Cow! Some of the best lyrics I've ever heard." -The Glenn Beck Program

Additional Info Sam Payne was born in Provo to a couple of folk singers and raised in the shadow of the Wasatch Mountains. The son of troubador and actor Marvin Payne, he grew up to study jazz and theater in college, which took him to stages from West Coast Universities to the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. Payne currently writes and performs with a number of projects, including the locally acclaimed

Location St. George, Utah - USA

Copyright notice. All material on MP3.com is protected by copyright law and by international treaties. You may download this material and make reasonable number of copies of this material only for your own personal use. You may not otherwise reproduce, distribute, publicly perform, publicly display, or create derivative works of this material, unless authorized by the appropriate copyright owner(s).