Illinois-based country rock singer songwriter Sam Tio is a name you will soon remember. The talented musician has released his debut self-titled album and recently had a chat with AMNplify about it all and more – check it out below!

Who or what inspired you to pursue music?

I got into music around age 10 when I started taking guitar lessons from my uncle, but I didn’t take an interest in country music until I was 13 years old. I remember watching the Hot 20 Countdown on CMT and thinking to myself, “wow, those guys are cool … I wanna do that.” So from there I began to teach myself to sing and when I put that together with my guitar playing, the song writing came pretty naturally.

How would you best describe your sound?

I had a real hard time with this one, because of the way each song was written and produced. We made an effort to take each song and find the style and instruments that’d be best for the structure and lyrics. The record is technically country, but it also has a lot of rock and blues influences.

There’s everything from fiddle to slide guitar and honky-tonk piano to harmonica. For the most part though, it’s dominated by a symphony of guitars and steady drums. The other constant on the record is the vocals. I normally have a raspy bourbon baritone voice, but I change my delivery on almost every song to fit what we’re trying to do.

Who are your main musical influences?

In terms of modern country music I’d have to say my biggest influences are Eric Church, Dierks Bentley and Kip Moore, but I can’t answer the question without mentioning some of the greats. Legends like Johnny Cash and Merle Haggard had a direct influence on my song Mama’s Biggest Trouble. Besides country, I listen to a lot of older rock with CCR, Bruce Springsteen, The Band and Elvis being some of my favourites.

What are the themes explored on your self-titled album?

A lot of today’s country music is centred around living a rural lifestyle, so songs about dirt roads, barn parties, etc. are really common. But I couldn’t ever write or sing about those types of things because I grew up in the suburbs. The first album is just a bunch of stories and experiences I’ve had over the years turned into songs.

What inspires your song writing?

Anything that happens while I’m going about my daily life can inspire a song. So I guess I don’t find it too hard to find inspiration, I just need to find the right way to look at something. If it’s a story I really want to tell, I can almost always turn it into a song.

What makes you different to similar sounding artists?

The difference between me and other artists in the country genre is the content of my songs. As I said earlier, a lot of country music is focused on things that happen in the country, but I’m not from the country and I’m not afraid to point that out. My point of view comes from a different walk of life and while I didn’t grow up on a farm, I think anyone who listens to country music can relate to what I sing about.

What has been your most memorable career highlight to date?

My number one highlight was completing the first album and driving around listening to it in the car. It was validation that all my years of playing and writing for hours each day had finally paid off.

What would you be doing if you weren’t making music?

If I weren’t making music I’d probably be doing the same thing I’m doing now, which is attending college, just without the music. But song writing, practicing and performing are such huge parts of my life that I can’t imagine living without music.

What is something you would like to do career-wise that you haven’t done yet?

Getting a song cut by an artist that I listen to would be unreal. I haven’t pitched any of my original stuff to other artists yet, but I know I’ve written a lot of songs that I won’t ever record. It would be awesome for someone who’s super talented to take one of those songs and make it their own.

If you could play any venue in the world, where would it be and why?

Being a country singer, I should probably say the Grand Ole Opry, but that’s number two on the list. I’ve had a recurring dream for a while now of playing a sold-out show at the football field where I went to high school. It might not be the Opry or a big stadium, but playing in front of my hometown crowd would be a dream come true.