by Lacey Eibery Keigley
Each autumn in October, as the evenings get darker sooner and as an actual chill means a sweatshirt is right on time, the TR Farmers Market hosts one of our community’s favorite gathering events.
The Harvest Market.
Every Thursday in October we drag out the picnic blankets, haul the kids over in a wagon, order popcorn and beer and buy dinner from a food truck. We pick up some local bread and autumn veggies, some hot tea or apple cider and we spread out across the center of Trailblazer Park and gather with friends as the sun sets.
Live music is an important part of each Harvest Market evening and this year’s October line up has been exceptional.
October 23 a special musician will be performing at the market. Sam Burchfield is coming home.
Raised in nearby Seneca, Sam attended college in Georgia but his music has his Blue Ridge Mountain roots written all through it. His newest album is entitled Nature Speaks and it’s his sixth album. We’re all getting an official sneak peek because the album releases Friday, October 24, the day after his market performance.
We’re so glad for Travelers Rest to be a part of Sam Burchfield’s fall tour – sitting pretty between a Nashville stop and a Savannah performance. (And the only free one on the line up. Big shout out to the Farmers Market Harvest Market sponsors who keep this sort of local magic alive and available for everyone! Thank you Joyce Windows and Smith Douglas Homes! We appreciate you.)
Sam was kind enough to answer a few questions before we have the opportunity to see him live at Trailblazer Park on October 23.
Sam says he can hardly remember a time in his life when music was NOT at the forefront. “When I started having a band in middle school, I didn’t really look back,” he says. He took guitar lessons growing up, played in an orchestra and learned bass and music theory in both middle and high school. “Shout out to Mr. Warlick and Ms. McFarlane,” Sam says, both teachers of his whose influence on him has resonated through the years. Adding to his classroom training, Sam says he played often and practiced like mad. Although his affection for music began early, Sam says it was probably mid way through his college years when he began to take the idea of being a professional musician seriously, as in – how can his next meal be paid for through song.
Sam and his wife Erin have two young children, which he admits has made him practice and write music more often late at night than he used to, waiting until all the parent duties are finished for the day. Although he says he does love a good sunrise inspiration session. (Maybe when the kids are older!)
He is a steady writer, though, and that’s what he says has helped keep him to a routine that has been successful for his career. “I try to be diligent about writing, and at least get something down every week even if I don’t like it,” Sam shares. But when the inspiration is on pause, he finds action and nature to help. “Going on walks with my wife, finding a creek to play in with my kids or getting my hands dirty with a house project help occupy my mind when I’ve got writer’s block.”
Home, and reveling in being there, is pretty sacred to Sam and despite the traveling that being a full time musician requires, family and time spent together is a priority and a happy place. “We are pretty silly at home, lots of made up songs and dance parties,” Sam shares. Every Sunday morning is pancakes at the table. Sam says his own kitchen skills shine best in a mean pot of chili or a hearty breakfast skillet.
“We have a dog, Moby, and a little garden with a peach tree and some apple trees. Our home is a 100 year old farm house that we’ve slowly been fixing up. My wife somehow puts up with me rambling around playing music. She’s been super patient and supportive of this journey and has sacrificed her own artistic pursuits for the time being to really take care of our kids,” Sam says, sharing that his wife is a talented artist – she plays the flute, writes songs, plays the piano and is a poet. “I’m incredibly grateful to her, and to my family at large for the support they’ve shown me over the years.” Sam has two sisters who both live in the Atlanta area, his Mom writes historical fiction novels and his Dad is a retired nuclear engineer, who Sam says plays more golf than you would think is possible.
Sam says his favorite movie is The Lion King and when I asked him what song is on repeat on his phone he confessed it was one his son asks him to listen to repeatedly – “Rock Island Line” by Johnny Cash. “He asks me to play it every morning on the way to school and on the way back,” Sam says. “It’s about trains, of course.” Without the influence of his son’s strong opinion, Sam says the band he would follow across the U.S. would be The Wood Brothers.
During his career so far, Sam has been privileged to play in some beautiful locations and venues. Picking a favorite is hard, but he’s partial to the Georgia Theatre in Athens. “I have a lot of nostalgia there from my college days and some of the staff that have been there a long time who are really awesome,” Sam says. “I’ve found myself in some pretty epic outdoor concerts as well though, some down in the mountains of Telluride, on a peak in Montana, on a boat in the ocean.”
One venue he hasn’t performed yet but that is high on his list – Red Rocks, naturally. “Red Rocks just feels like a milestone magical place to be able to play live music and connect.” Here’s hoping he performs on that Colorado stage sometime soon – and plays his song “Colorado” in the shadow of those Rocky Mountains.
If he’s not playing or performing and the rare completely free weekend is available, Sam says he knows exactly how he’d spend the time. “There would be no phone. I’d make a really nice big ol’ breakfast, go for a run, find a body of water to jump in, hike, nap outside, pick a little guitar, read a good book and watch a sunset.”
We can’t wait to hear Sam play and sing at Trailblazer Park in the shadow of our own Paris Mountain.
See you at the Harvest Market.
Trailblazer Park
October 23
5:30 to 8 pm
P.S. – My favorite Sam Burchfield song is “The Last of the Honeybees”
