[Cover photo credit to Debra Gloria]

Folk-leaning Texan Americana artist Stephanie Sammons blends natural imagery with narrative reflection for her songwriting. Now poised to release her first full-length album, Time and Evolution, Sammons has played Nashville’s Bluebird Cafe and shared stages with some of her favorite artists and mentors, including Mary Gauthier, Jonatha Brooke, and Mary Bragg. The single “Faithless” is out now.

Sammons shares:

I’ve been writing and recording music over the years while balancing a career as a financial planner. But I made a serious commitment to this art in recent years because I knew I had to create it.  

For me, songwriting is about sharing my truth and seeking connection. I want to make people feel something.

Sammons has previously released two EPs and has been frequenting Nashville for the last seven years to attend Performing Songwriter Creative Workshops, where she has studied with local favorite Mary Gauthier as well as Emily Saliers, Beth Nielsen Chapman, Jonatha Brooke, Suzy Bogguss, Verlon Thompson, and Gretchen Peters.

She adds:

My songwriting has evolved working with such brilliant mentors, most of whom are GRAMMY-nominated or winning artists. I’ve learned how to hone my craft, explore deeper themes, and own my voice. Getting to a good song is like carving a sculpture in stone: You keep working at it because you see what it could be, and you want to get your hands on what’s at the core. 

Her upcoming record was Produced by Mary Bragg at Nashville’s Sound Emporium Studio B and set for release in May 2024. The ten-song collection “begins with a journey and ends with a reckoning—part coming of age, part teardown of harmful church doctrine, part beautiful homage to the ongoing rediscovery of faith”.

The songs explore “shame, vulnerability, and the complexity of being queer in a conservative, Southern religious culture.”