On March 7th, Americana Award winner Sam Outlaw returns with Terra Cotta - a new album of ten original songs.

Terra Cotta's sound is indicative of Sam’s evolving "New Wave Western" and "So Cal Country" styles and longtime fans will make immediate connections to Sam's previous albums, Angeleno (2015), Tenderheart (2017), and Popular Mechanics (2021).

The lead track, Pretty Good Singer, recalls Sam’s origins as a Classic Country apologist and pairs him with one of Americana's most impressive female vocalists: Nashville singer-songwriter Lauren Morrow. Other country-leaning songs like Ways To Go and Heart and Soul feature Smith Curry on dobro and pedal steel (Randy Travis) and mandolin from producer and co-writer Cheyenne Medders (Secret Sisters). The live acoustic production of these songs will remind listeners why an alert critic deemed Sam Outlaw's debut album "a polished and cosmopolitan West Coast take on traditional country music" (The Guardian)

Elsewhere on the LP are upbeat genre-benders like the homesick title track Terra Cotta (co-written with Steven Fiore from Young Mister) and the Petty-esque-anxiety-attack-in-a-song Figure It Out, co-written with Americana super-talent Aaron Lee Tasjan

Terra Cotta also offers a romantic country duet with Opry favorite Sarah Darling, and a Gerry Rafferty-inspired rocker called "Someone Quite Like You," featuring Tyler Summers on saxophone (Dave Stewart of The Eurythmics and Martina McBride). 

Terra Cotta's high-energy closer features Nashville indie darling Molly Martin in an Alternative Rock duet that could have been plucked from your fatally scratched copy of the 1998 "Now" compilation CD. 

The Grand Ole Opry performer will begin a U.S. tour in March with stops in Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, and Salt Lake City. A European tour announcement is imminent. 

….

More about Sam Outlaw:

Sam Outlaw was born in the Midwest, grew up in California, and now lives in Nashville. 

"Outlaw" is his mother's maiden name.

Sam worked as an advertising executive in his twenties while writing songs as a hobby and eventually started performing at small bar gigs near his home in Los Angeles. In 2015, Sam left his advertising career to pursue music full-time when he was offered a tour opening for Justin Townes Earle.

Later that year, Sam released his debut album "Angeleno," produced and performed by Ry Cooder and Joachim Cooder and featuring Gabe Witcher (Punch Brothers)Bo Koster (My Morning Jacket), and Taylor Goldsmith (Dawes). "Angeleno" garnered universal acclaim and multiple award nominations.

In 2017, Sam released his follow-up album, "Tenderheart." Also a critical success, "Tenderheart" was heralded as one of the year's best country albums and took home “International Song of the Year” at the UK Americana Awards in London.

Sam has toured extensively as a headlining artist at marquee festivals such as Stagecoach, Pilgrimage Music Festival, and Hardly Strictly Bluegrass. Sam has also toured in support of beloved artists such as John PrineKacey MusgravesDwight YoakamClint Black, Margo Price, and Sheryl Crow.

In 2018, Sam and his family moved from LA to Nashville, and the following year, Sam made his Grand Ole Opry debut. Since then, Sam has made several appearances on the Grand Ole Opry and on countless more stages around the world. 

In 2021 he released his third LP "Popular Mechanics" and in 2022 and 2023 released a string of B-sides and singles that showcase Sam's unconventional blend of genres and subject matter, including Holler’s “Best New Country” track Do You Really Love Me? featuring Jay Dee Maness on pedal steel (The Byrds, Desert Rose Band).

Press quotes:

"Exceptionally serene and pleasing." - NPR

"For anyone who feels similarly disenchanted about country music, Outlaw's songs - closely bound to tradition, endlessly romantic - are the perfect remedy." - American Songwriter

"Outlaw has ideas to spare, and his instinct to nurture them in the wild West is the right one." - Nashville Scene

"Sam Outlaw has a wonderfully rich and mournful country voice." - The Telegraph

"A legitimate contender to be the biggest country star L.A. has produced since Dwight Yoakam." - LA Weekly

"A cosmopolitan west coast take on traditional country music with songs that are moody and wry all at once." - The Guardian

"Sam Outlaw has a lot going for him. A talented singer and songwriter." - No Depression

"(Sam's music) is polished and Southern Californian in its sensibility. But Outlaw's sense of humor gives his work an edge." - The New Yorker