Meet 14 Year-Old Folk Singer Sammy Brue

Last week, we had the pleasure of meeting Sammy Brue, a 14 year-old folk musician from Ogden, Utah. Sammy was participating at the Wildwood Revival Showcase at the Museum Stage of the Newport Folk Festival. That’s right, while most teenagers are stressing about final projects and first dates, Sammy is playing a music festival alongside names like James Taylor and Roger Waters.

Sammy stopped by our booth on Saturday and we got to chatting. He dug the pencils and told us the story of how he got into folk music, a story with an unexpected Blackwing connection.

The story goes a little something like this: When Sammy was 8 years old, he composed a handwritten letter to Willie Watson who, at the time, was a member of Old Crow Medicine Show. In his letter, he named Willie as his inspiration for wanting to become as songwriter and asked if Willie had any advice for an aspiring young musician. Willie responded with a multipage letter of his own encouraging Sammy to follow his dream, pick up a guitar and start writing songs.

Since then, Sammy has done just that. He already has two EPs under his belt and was called an “Americana prodigy” by Rolling Stone.

Check out the video Sammy recorded at this year’s Newport Folk Festival and give him a follow on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!