Sarah Sample

Singer/songwriter Sarah Sample has a subtle, yet impressive presence. The first time I saw Sample was not on a stage, it was on an elevator in the Norwegian Dawn (cruise ship) during the second day of Cayamo 2010. She boarded a crowded elevator in the midst of a conversation with another group. Just as quickly as she was engaged in discussion with them, she just as easily brought my wife and myself into the conversations. Not surprisingly she’s just as engaging on stage and with her music in general. After her performance with Darrell Scott on the cruise, I spoke with her briefly and she agreed to do this email interview. We got a chance to discuss her music and her affinity for in-house concerts. Before getting to the questions, consider some of the influences that Sample lists at her Facebook fan page: “Patty Griffin, Gillian Welch, Josh Ritter, Paul Simon, The Weepies, Emmylou Harris, Ray LaMontagne, Shawn Colvin…” My thanks to Sample for the interview.

Tim O’Shea: Can you breakdown the process of how you ended up as a performer on the Cayamo 2010 cruise–by winning the Concerts in Your Home (CIYH)/Cayamo contest?

Sarah Sample: I went on the Cayamo Cruise as a listener last year. My experience being on the boat as a listener was filled with beautiful memories of incredible musical moments; and at the same time it was hard to be a singer/songwriter and not be able to perform. This year I saw that CIYH was doing a contest where you could submit a video performance of a house concert, and the winner got to be an artist on Cayamo 2010. I play a lot of house concerts, so I selected a video of a song called ‘Mercy Me‘ and sent it in. When I got the call that I had won, I started jumping up and down in the kitchen. Really big dream come true.

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