Today we’d like to introduce you to Sam Wade.
Hi Sam, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I gravitated towards the arts at a young age and discovered music pretty early on. Both of my parents are creative and we had a very artistically encouraging home. By the time I was thirteen or fourteen, I was already writing, recording and performing songs. One of my neighborhood friends, Jay Mac, had a primitive but inspiring recording setup in his basement – two tape decks and a mixing board. That was all we needed at the time to start capturing our ideas. When I was sixteen I saved up and bought my first piece of recording gear and I was off to the races. I was always eager to share my songs anywhere I could. Over the next decade I fronted bands in St. Louis (Northside’s Sweet Revenge, Controlled Fires and Saturn V Rockets) and moonlighted in the Dallas-based band Oil Boom, before deciding to release several solo endeavors. In 2021 I released a full-length album called Tributaries followed by a companion EP called The Rapids. This led to other collaborations with Keith Levenson (music director for The Who) and “Coach” Ben Wade (The Dragonslayer of TV’s Survivor). Since fall 2024 I’ve toured all over North America with Broadway’s HADESTOWN 2nd National Tour with 400 performances under my belt playing for nearly 1 million theatergoers. All along the way, I’ve also composed for film and trailers including most recently scoring the opening segment for the 2026 Golden Trailer Awards. I continue finding avenues to create and share my music.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Oh absolutely there’s been struggles along the way – it wouldn’t be life without them! You just have to keep getting back up. Seriously. I’m not trying to be heroic or anything, but you can either lay down and stay there, or get back up and keep trying.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m always looking for new ways to grow creatively. For example, when I got the HADESTOWN gig I was already a seasoned guitar player, but learning that challenging and idiosyncratic book, really pushed me into new territory as a musician. I think that’s something I keep discovering about myself as an artist – if I push myself, I am continually surprised by what I can accomplish. I also have to say that I’ve had the immense honor of playing with some of the best musicians around in the HADESTOWN band. I hope we continue to make music even after our time with the tour is over.
I’ve also just launched my new website samwademusic.com. It’s hub for all of my musical endeavors from singer-songwriter to producer to composer. Let’s make something great together!
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
It’s really hard to say where the music business will be in 5-10 years. I think there will always be artists who strive to express their creative point of view, but I think AI will and already is disrupting the business. As a tool, AI is amazing in potential, but I strongly feel that it needs to be an extension of the human experience not a substitute. I’m concerned how things will progress when efficiency and maximized profits are the goal.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.samwademusic.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samwadesongs
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/samwadesongs
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBWOjcVX1QbvyNtD_DyKHmA
- Soundcloud: https://www.soundcloud.com/samwadesongs
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/theundergroundsymphony
