Skip to main content

A Grounded Artist: Sam Burchfield in the Spotlight

 

    Originally from Seneca, South Carolina, Sam Burchfield has turned his joyful childhood hobby into a career that is continuing to grow. 

    Burchfield grew up in the Blue Ridge Mountains, where his blue grass, gospel and folk roots were born. He went to University of Georgia and currently lives in Athens when not traveling as an artist.

    He began as an independent artist, which posed many challenges as he was putting his foot in the door.

    "I initially had to do everything - from taxes to booking and everything in between. My brain was constantly between thinking logically and creatively," said Burchfield.

    Now with "Eat Music Management" and "Atlas Touring," Burchfield has been able to delegate the overwhelming roles to other people and focus in on songwriting.

    For Burchfield, songwriting is the best part of being a music artist. Here he gets to dig into his creativity and tell stories.

    "I strive for truth and honesty in all of my songs for both my amazing fans and myself. If I am not honest with myself first, then the music I sing is pointless."

    His songwriting process is never the same. Sometimes the song needs no edits, but other times songs will have to be discarded to only possibly be brought out of the trashcan.

    "I will just start playing an instrument and freestyle singing, at some point it will just all click and feel right."

    Burchfield's ultimate goal when writing any song is to transform listeners thinking and open their minds for the better.

    "My favorite song is personally 'Cradle You.' This song changed my thinking as well and listening to it allows me to relive the feelings I felt when writing."

    Burchfield's wife is his biggest source of inspiration for songwriting. 

    "She is a crazy and creative artist herself; she helps me find my own creative identity every day." 

    Musically, The Wood Brothers are a band he strives to embody.

    "Their music is just positive in all aspects; it makes me happy listening and the writing is just incredible." 

    Burchfield's GRAVEYARD FLOWER Extended Play was his attempt to reconnect with his Appalachian beginnings. In a world with so many distractions - phones, social media and the internet - Burchfield invited listeners to plant their feet where they are at. He hoped the works he produced humbled fans and brought a new appreciation of the beauty of the earth we live on.

    His first non-independent album was SCROUNDEL, released in March of 2022. The album is a tale of "greed, betrayal, heartbreak, revenge, and redemption." 

    "SCOUNDREL is all about outlaw motif: the line between good and bad, plus where that line goes and ends."

    Since SCOUNDREL, Burchfield has been recording the album's tracks acoustically in an abandoned jail in his hometown. He released "Profit" last week on March 24, with more to come soon.

    Over the years Burchfield's music has changed a lot, but he believes his music has stayed something people can resonate with. 

    Aside from Burchfield's acoustic tracks, he is excited to go on tour with "The Scoundrels" in the upcoming months. 

    "It is awesome that our band has finally cemented, 'The Scoundrels' are my best friends and brothers." 

    As things are continuing to grow, the band is ecstatic to have people hear them perform and travel the country while doing so. The tour spans from April 7 to August 13, 2023. You can buy tickets or sign up for Burchfield's newsletter at http://www.samburchfield.com.


Sam Burchfield (@samburchfield) • Instagram photos and videos


Sally Ozmore

sally.ozmore@gmail.com 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Painstakingly Beautiful - Roland Faunte

     Roland Faunte is a blatantly honest artist who writes about real life struggles - especially mental health. His debut EP - Sewing Kit - can easily bring you to tears as Roland describes his long battle with depression.     Sewing Kit  is a masterpiece in so many ways. Faunte wrote, sang, and produced the album completely on his own. Not only highlighting the struggles faced with mental illnesses, Sewing Kit covers the insecurities all humans face as result of our society and culture. You will feel seen and heard as you listen to the EP, and there is definitely some way you will relate to the lyrics.     The opening song Hand Over Hand  details Faunte's battle with depression over the years - the highs, lows, and okay moments. This title track definitely sets the mellow and reflective tone of the EP, easily segwaying into the other seven songs to come.     His next single A Happy Life  portrays a step-by-step fall into the ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Moon Taxi - A Story of Brotherhood and Music

      In 2006, Trevor Terndrup mooned a taxi during a night out in downtown Nashville, Tennessee with his five best friends.      A couple weeks later, when the group of five students decided to form a band while at Belmont University, there was no better choice than Moon Taxi as the name.     Now, 16 years later, the band has grown tremendously and is inseparable.      Each of the artists - Trevor Terndrup, Tommy Putnam, Spencer Thomson, Tyler Ritter, and Wes Bailey - got into music at a young age. They all had parents and grandparents who were passionate about music and pushed them at a young age to play an instrument.      Moon Taxi started out as a local band and slowly grew their platform by touring around the country before social media skyrocketed.     "We had very grass roots and never did anything crazy marketing-wise to gain a larger audience for a long while," said Thomson.     During th...
Post a Comment
Read more

Discover Monthly

     Here are a few of my favorite tracks, artists and albums from the past month. 1. The Kiss of Venus by Paul McCartney and Dominic Fike     This out-of-the-box collab shocked me at first; but after one listen, I was hooked. I personally like this version better than the original released on McCartney 111 in 2020. With the original version having only an acoustic guitar, the harpsicord, and McCartney's voice, Dominic Fike brought in a R&B style and modernized the smooth ballad for McCartney III Imagined .      The track is inspired by a book McCartney read on the movement of our solar system. The phrase  The Kiss of Venus was used by the author and pulled into a song by McCartney. The Kiss of Venus explores the beauty of life and growing up, even when some tasks seem mundane. It reminds listeners to stop, see and understand the world around them with lyrics like "have you read the paper?" 2. Eat Your Young by Hozier     Insp...
Post a Comment
Read more