Artist:     Carter Sampson

Album:     Lucky

Label:     Horton

Release Date:     10.26.2018

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Oklahoma may not yet generate the buzz of musical centers such as Nashville and Austin, but its star has risen over recent years with the contributions of John Moreland, John Fulbright, the Turnpike Troubadours, and Parker Milsap, to name just a few. Welcome, Carter Sampson, to this esteemed group of Okie musicians. Of course, the natives are well acquainted with her already—she does about 220 shows a year in the region and this release, Lucky, is her fifth full-length album.

Sampson does country music the right way, and wears her red boots and big hat proudly. “I’m pretty much the same me working on the same goals … maybe a little more grown up. I think I am more confident than I was when I first started playing. I’ve always been brave, but I’m more sure of myself now,” she says. Her music appeals to a wide range of folks, and she’s built a strong network both musically and in social causes. She’s the founder and director of Oklahoma City’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Camp for Girls, which always partners with nonprofit organizations that empower girls and women through music education.

Having worked previously with Oklahoma stalwarts like Travis Linville, Sampson changed it up for this one, adding several new collaborators to the mix. For the first time she’s worked with producer Jason Scott (and one of his first producing projects too), and she tapped Oklahoma’s Wes Sharon (Turnpike Troubadours, Parker Milsap) for mixing, turned to some other writers (Zac Copeland, Kalyn Fay and Shel Silverstein) and enlisted multi-instrumentalist Jared Tyler (Malcolm Holcombe), drummer James Purdy, John Calvin Abney (keys, electric guitar, harmonica), Kyle Reid (keys, guitar, pedal steel, Luke Mullenix (bass), Jack Waters (drums, vocals), and backing vocalists Erik Offedahl, Nellie Clay, and Ken Pomeroy and a few others.
Sampson’s vocals have a rich, warm tone, but while she is mostly smooth, she can bring the grit when need be. She plays a twangy guitar and sings her songs as if she’s lived them. The album was partially written and recorded in Colorado where she was raised. Those influences are heard in “Peaches,” an ode to her childhood. and “Rattlesnake Kate,” about a legendary Colorado lady who fought snakes while carrying a child and rifle on horseback all day long. Similarly, we have “Wild Ride” and “Ten Penny Nail” to further reflect the Western motifs. The autobiographical tune “Lucky” spotlights Jared Tyler’s immense skills on dobro, while the shuffle “Wild Ride” also speaks to Sampson’s character. Dubbed the “Queen of Oklahoma,” it makes lots of sense that she turned to Shel Silverstein’s “Queen of the Silver Dollar” for the closer.

Like Oklahoma’s musical reputation, Sampson’s star is rising too.

—Jim Hynes