Sam Carlson

Sam Carlson came to Key West looking for musicians. He ended up finding a musical home.

Raised in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, Sam grew up surrounded by music. He sang in his church choir as a child and began playing guitar as a teenager. Those early experiences introduced him to the power of singing together, storytelling, and traditional music.

Today, those influences remain at the heart of a sound that sits somewhere between Americana, folk, country, and bluegrass without belonging entirely to any one of them.

The Road to Key West

After graduating from Muhlenberg College in 2013, Sam eventually made his way to the Boston area. There, he worked with young people through AmeriCorps and later as an outdoor educator on Thompson Island.

Music followed him.

He played with fellow educators, learned traditional and seafaring songs, practiced harmonies, and busked around Boston. Eventually, the pull to perform became stronger.

In 2017, Sam set out on a musical road trip. Friends encouraged him to visit New Orleans and then continue south to Key West. What was supposed to be another stop along the way quickly became something more.

Finding a Musical Home

Sam arrived in Key West in March 2017 and began searching for places to play.

Connections came quickly. He met Jesse Wagner of Happy Dog, who became an early mentor. An impromptu performance with Raven Cooper at Captain Tony’s also helped introduce him to the local music community.

Then came another important friendship with Key West musician Jerrod Isaman.

Sam has credited Jerrod with teaching him an important distinction: the difference between simply playing songs and pouring love into the music. In 2018, Sam began performing with Jerrod’s Billy the Squid and the Sea Cow Drifters.

The lesson stuck.

A Sound Between Traditions

Sam describes his music as adjacent to country and bluegrass, but not quite either.

His rhythmic guitar playing borrows from the percussive quality of traditional string music. His songwriting, however, reaches beyond genre. Philosophy, poetry, folk traditions, and the musicians he has encountered along the way all find a place in his work.

The result is music meant to do two things at once: make you think and make you move.

That balance has become a defining part of Sam’s performances, whether he’s playing solo or surrounded by other musicians.

Original Music in Key West

Sam has become an advocate for the original music that thrives beyond Key West’s better-known entertainment scene.

He points to places such as Blue Heaven, Andy’s Cabana, VIV Wine Bistro, the Green Parrot, Schooner Wharf, and the historic American Legion Post 168 as important spaces for musicians creating and sharing original work.

It’s a community Sam doesn’t simply perform within. He actively helps build it.

That influence can be seen in his collaborations with other Key West musicians and in the open jams and intimate performances that continue to give the island’s music scene its character.

Second Hand and a New Chapter

After spending time in Texas and recording an album that was ultimately delayed, Sam returned to Key West determined to take greater control of his music.

That decision led to Second Hand, released in September 2024. The ten-song album was recorded with Keith Banning and Cayman Smith-Martin at DePoo Sound.

The project also brought Sam back to “Come On Home,” a song connected to one of his earliest paid performances years before.

In 2024, Sam received the first Anne McKee Artist Fund Joint Performance Grant. The award led to a sold-out concert at the Tennessee Williams Theatre Cabaret in March 2025.

He has since established Sam Carlson Sound and continues writing, recording, collaborating, and performing.

For Sam Carlson, Key West became much more than the destination at the end of a road trip. It became a place to develop his own voice — and a community where original music still matters.