Lindsey Sampson
Lindsey Sampson has just released her new single “Night Driving” and it’s been on repeat for days. I can’t get enough of those catchy melodies and this captivating chorus. Lindsey Sampson definitely delivered a timeless pop/folk song with “Night Driving” and I know it’s going to get a lot of attention from people across the world.
Go stream “Night Driving” - out now !!
Introduce yourself - what's your story?
Hi! I’m Lindsey. What a big question. My dad was in the military, so I grew up moving all around the world, and in the midst of that I started singing and playing music and writing to help make sense of everything. I lived in Boston for a decade until I realized the thing I care most about is making spaces where people can connect to themselves, the divine, and the people around them. So I quit my job and moved to Nashville to go to divinity school to study religion, gender, and sexuality. And here we are!
What did you grow up listening to?
There was a lot of country music in my house growing up. Shania Twain, The Chicks, Brooks & Dunn, Jo Dee Messina. We were a radio family, so I have an encyclopedic knowledge of 90s radio hits by now. I can identify Two Princes by the Spin Doctors from a mile away.
What were your favorite songs to sing along to?
As a kid, it was This Kiss by Martina McBride — the satisfaction of scream-singing “This! Kiss! This! Kiss!” And that BRIDGE.
When did you start writing songs?
I started writing songs early in middle school, maybe around age 10? Before I knew how to write music or play an instrument I would just write lyrics and draw these wavy little lines above that vaguely represented the shape of the melody so I wouldn’t forget it.
When did you know you could sing?
I grew up in the Episcopal church, so I was always part of big choirs growing up - which means I knew I was *capable* of singing, but didn’t think a lot about whether or not I was any good at it. It took until I started doing musical theater in high school that my individual voice started to develop and I started realizing I had something special, or at least interesting.
When did you know you had to be an artist and release your original music?
That process took a lot longer. For a long time, I wrote music for the sake of my own processing - I very rarely shared them with anyone. At some point in college, a friend and I started a band and started playing out at bars around Boston for fun. When people started coming, then coming back, then bringing friends, I realized people were getting something useful out of it. They were finding joy, or at least a tiny space during their day carved out for community and reflection. That was around 2015 or so, and that belief — that music can buoy people’s spirits or become a space for people to process their lives — has pushed me to keep writing and releasing music.
Who was the first person to ever believe in you?
This is an amazing question. My parents have always been wildly supportive — of my writing, my singing, my music. I am deeply aware of how rare and special that is.
"Night Driving" is your new single - what's the inspiration behind this single?
Night Driving is a song of blessing - it’s a song for when you realize that the life you’re creating is being looked after in some way.
Could you describe the songwriting/production process for this song? Who helped you create it?
I wrote this song back in 2020 — I was in the middle of a tough relationship, and Night Driving was an expression of resiliency and commitment in the midst of uncertainty. I put it away for a few years, but when I was putting together the track list for Juniper, it jumped out at me in a new way. I was preparing to make a huge life transition — uprooting my life in Boston to move to Nashville — and all of a sudden the song completely shifted meaning. Instead of being about romantic love, the song sounded like an illustration of the dance with the universe that happens when we’re listening to ourselves and creating our own lives. I fell in love with it all over again and sent it over to my producer Daniel Radin. When he sent over the first draft arrangement, I was captivated by the space and the delight I heard it in. In my mind, it’s been the single ever since.
What's your favorite thing about this song?
The danciness! Dance-y-ness? The way it makes me move. The way I write is very quiet and introspective, so the songs often start out sounding that way, too. This feels so different. Until Daniel and I started working on this song, I didn’t realize my music could sound like this. The departure of style feels like an awakening of sorts, and it’s exciting every time I hear it.
What made you want to release "Night Driving" as a single?
My thought process was twofold - first, the content itself. It feels like a blessing over a journey, which is the tone I want to strike as this album unfolds. It was also a decision based on style. Night Driving is one of the more different-sounding songs on the album, so it’s a bit of a signal flare, letting people know what’s coming.
As an artist, what is the hardest part? And what is the best part?
Between the pandemic and the move, I have played very few live shows solo - the hardest part of releasing music right now is missing the element of audiences as a sounding board. Usually people are great about telling you which songs they loved (which helps you sort through which songs to add to a record). The absence of that sounding board means I’m making recording decisions purely based on album cohesion and personal narrative, which is both fully liberating and fully terrifying.
And the best part? My favorite part is that my art gets to participate in human lives in ways I will never be aware of. I’m not sure where I heard this quote, but it sticks with me when I think about music - “a word spoken belongs to the wind.” There is something so absurd and so beautiful about the fact that your art is just out there, bumping around in hearts and minds, and as the artist, you have no idea where it has landed.
What are your thoughts on today's music industry? If you could change one thing, what would it be?
This isn’t a new thought, but one of the hardest parts of being an independent artist right now is that the pandemic wiped out a ton of small, independent music venues. Some of these venues were the bedrock of local music communities, and local music is still feeling the effects of these losses. If I could change one thing, it would be creating more public and private support for mid-size independent music venues.
You recently moved to Nashville - how's it like to live out there? What do you like the most about Nashville?
I am fully, completely head over heels in love with this town. Even in my first couple of months, I have found that it’s a city ready to receive new people. Because it’s a city of artists, there is so much energy around supporting local makers — local musicians, local restaurants, local breweries. It seems as though everyone knows what it takes to pursue a dream, and they’re so willing to support the dreams of those around them. And obviously the weather — it’s completely unreal. As a New Englander, I feel like my body is finally thawing.
What's the best advice you've ever received?
Cultivate the garden of your life. Thinking about my life as a garden has reminded me to be more process oriented than goal oriented - I can have big dreams, but the more important thing is to enjoy the process of tending to what is in front of me. It reminds me to focus on making good art and loving my people, while letting the rest follow as it will. Prune the trees, till the soil, and the fruit will come in its time.
In your opinion, what would make the world a better place?
This sounds so simple, but if people spent more time reminding those around them that they are loved and capable of good and beautiful things. I can’t count the number of times I have been loved into being - where someone’s words reminded me of a truth I had forgotten about myself. It’s important to speak truth over your own life, but it’s also important to sow into other people too.
What biggest life lessons have you learned so far?
You’re allowed to be playful with your life. You’re allowed to just try things — jobs, hobbies, projects — without knowing exactly where it’s headed. You’re allowed to follow strands of interest to see where they lead. You’re allowed to start a band for fun. You’re allowed to save money so one day you can quit your job and go to divinity school just to see what happens. Life is so strange and brief and wonderful, and we’re allowed to be a little bit less precious with it.
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