Why we're digging Samantha Crain

Samantha Crain’s voice is unmistakable. She's haunting as she sings, spinning musical stories of raw emotional depth.

Crain, who’s Choctaw, was born in Shawnee, Oklahoma. Not only is she a talented singer and songwriter who has spent years on the road telling stories with her guitar, but she’s also stood up against discrimination and blatant cultural appropriation.

Last year the daughter of the governor of Oklahoma, who’s also in the band Pink Pony, suggested she’d wear full regalia at a music festival. Pink Pony’s singer Christina Fallin didn’t wear full regalia, but instead donned a poncho and imitated a war dance on stage.

Crain organized a peaceful protest in response, put the word out to other Indigenous people she knows who showed up with signs at the music fest.

You can read about the whole incident over at BuzzFeed.

And now, about the music. The New York Times has called Crain “a promising young storyteller with fealty to ragged, country-driven indie-pop” and with “a voice that traverses the space between Gillian Welch and Regina Spektor.”

Under Branch & Thorn & Tree is Crain’s fourth album and came out in mid-July of this year. It’s remarkably sad, with tales of people struggling under tough circumstances. But within the sadness there’s some light as her echoing voice moves us from song to song.

Check out Crain’s music on her website and here’s one song from Under Branch & Thorn & Tree, called "Kathleen."

What are you listening to these days? 

Photo source: www.samanthacrain.com