Performing Arts Studio

Shawnee native Samantha Crain has a powerful and accessible voice which Rolling Stone described as "... gorgeously odd — all fulsome, shape-shifting vowels that do indeed billow like fog."   Crain will be featured at the February 19 Winter Wind Concert in the Norman Depot, 200 South Jones Avenue.  Tickets are $15 for the 7:00 pm concert.  Refreshments will be served.

Having been raised in rural Shawnee may have influenced Crain’s quirky, earthy interpretation of folk music as much as did her father’s record collection, which included Bob Dylan and the Grateful Dead.  But the young Crain was even more taken with the music of her home state, from the rootsy Americana of Woody Guthrie to the sonic experiments of the Flaming Lips.

After graduating from Dale High School, Crain enrolled at Oklahoma Baptist University, where she spent several semesters working toward a degree in English literature before registering for a semester-long songwriting retreat located off-campus at Martha's Vineyard. That retreat allowed Crain to transform herself into a songwriter with a knack for narrative storytelling. When she returned home, she decided to pursue a career in music instead of returning to college.

Crain's first pressed collection of songs, The Confiscation, is a concept album based around five short stories Crain had written involving the themes of redemption and betrayal.  Ramseur Records took notice of this self-released EP, as well as a work schedule which saw Crain crisscrossing the country with guitar in tow, and ultimately offered her a spot on the label, reissuing The Confiscation in July 2007 as her Ramseur debut.

Crain's first LP with the Midnight Shivers was the April, 2009 release, Songs in the Night.  The album release was followed with an NPR Weekend Edition feature and favorable reviews from Paste magazine, the Washington Post, woxy.com, and emusic.com.

After the Midnight Shivers disbanded, Crain released her second full length LP, You (Understood),  in June, 2010.

“Samantha Crain writes folk music, but she belts out notes like she’s singing R&B.  Her rich alto seems to have no bottom, and the sound of it against her bare guitar is enough to raise gooseflesh” says Rolling Stone.  This Oklahoma girl is on her way.

Links:
Samantha Crain Web Site
Video: Samantha Crain - Santa Fe

To purchase concert tickets click the Buy Now button above, or stop by the Norman Depot or phone the PAS at 405-307-9320.  PAS office and gallery hours are 8:00 am to 2:00 pm Monday through Friday in the Norman Depot.

Winter Wind Concerts are produced by The Performing Arts Studio and made possible in part by grants from the Norman Arts Council, the Oklahoma Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts.  Local sponsors include: The City of Norman; Tom McAuliffe, Don Cies Read Estate; Cindy Merrick, Therapy in Motion; and Nancy McClellan.  Contributors are Glen Brown; Jack’s Pool Service; Skye Diers, Gingerbread Nursery School; Hugh and Keri Young; Dale Wares, Wares Properties; and Danna Primm.  Friends include Tom & Mary Cay Woodfin; Tom Cotrone; and The Grider Family.  Additional support comes from Cafe Plaid, The Montford Inn, and Bohemia Moveable Feast Caterers.