By Koo Hwangbo
Waking up in a new city, Sam Grow starts the day with a smile on his face, thankful that he gets to do what he loves the most for a living. Touring the country and performing his music has always been a dream for this singer-songwriter, who describes his music as a blend of rock, soul and country.
Growing up in southern Maryland, Grow was surrounded by vibrant music in his household. His dad was always singing and introduced him to artists that inspired him such as Elvis Presley, Ray Charles and Willie Nelson. “I first started singing when I was 5,” Grow says. “My dad used to preach at this little church, and he wanted me to sing ‘Amazing Grace.’ I chickened out the first time, but the second time I got up and sang, people clapped. I really, really liked it.”
Now that Grow is 29, he has a family of his own—an 8-year-old little girl, Emmry Harlow, and an extended family larger than most people’s. “I hate the word ‘fans,’” he says. “It’s one of my least favorite words. I call the people who support me my family because it’s true. They do so much for me, and without them I couldn’t feed myself or my family.”
Grow has found incredible success, including a record that charted in the top 20 on iTunes, but he isn’t taking any breaks. “After this tour, I’m going to tour some more,” he says. “It never stops for us, and when we slow up on our tour, we’re probably making more music. Then we’ll go out and tour again. I think we’re doing 280 dates this year, so we just play a lot; it’s second nature to us.”
Even with this grueling schedule, he knows where his success comes from: “We’ve already achieved what we consider ‘making it.’ All we ever wanted to do is make a good living doing what we love, and we’ve already achieved that thanks to the people who buy our music and come to our shows. All we could ask for is to get bigger and to have more people know our music and come out to see it.”
Sam Grow is performing at the Tally Ho Theatre in Leesburg on Aug. 27.
