We first met Oklahoma-based artist Samantha Crain last summer, shortly after the release of Gumshoe, her seventh full-length and first in five years, amidst her first extensive tour in about as long, which included a headlining date at Johnny Brenda’s that proved to be one of the best performances we saw in the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection all summer. During our 2025 chat, the Choctaw singer/songwriter told me about her newly developed relationships with her artistic collaborators, entering the world of film scoring, and how a number of great live performances helped her to get over a case of the yips brought on by stage fright.
Next Thursday, May 7th, Samantha Crain will be returning to the stage of Johnny Brenda’s. However, this time around she will be performing solo and providing a supporting role for London indie folk duo Flyte, who will be headlining the evening. Flyte — who are currently touring behind their fourth LP, Between You and Me, which hit shelves last August — are comprised of Nicolas Hill and William Taylor, the longtime partner of our new phriend Billie Marten, whose relationship actually served as the inspiration behind the duo’s 2023 self-titled third LP. I recently got a chance to briefly catch up with Samantha Crain, who tells me about her past year.
Izzy Cihak: I know you’re currently on tour with Flyte, and I just found out you’re actually playing with them, as well. How did you originally get together with them and how have the dates gone so far?
Samantha Crain: The tour has been good so far, really nice audiences. And yes, I do guest on a few songs during the Flyte set. We were introduced through our shared manager.
Izzy: What can be expected of your live show this time around? I’m assuming it’ll be a bit shorter/smaller than the last time you were at Johnny Brenda’s, but I’ll definitely stick around to see what you do with Flyte, as well.
Samantha: Yes. I’m playing solo so it will definitely be a more stripped-down version of songs.
Izzy: The last time we spoke was summer of last year, a little after Gumshoe dropped. This is a big question, but what have been some of the personal highlights of the album cycle over the course of the past year-ish?
Samantha: The release tour May-July was the highlight for me. It was such a special thing to be able to tour with a band again and really lock in with each other.
Izzy: Considering that the album’s just about a year old now, I’m curious if you currently have a favorite track, a year into playing the songs live? The title track made my Top 20 of the year on my Y-Not Radio show, but I think my current phavorite might be “Neptune Baby.”
Samantha: Yeah, I think when we started touring the record, “Dragonfly” was my favorite to play with the band, but I think “Dart” or “Neptune Baby” are my favorite to play right now.
Izzy: You have released some music since then, with “Belly” dropping super recently and “Cherry Plum” dropping last year with Wilderado (who I also totally dig). Is there more new music in the works, by any chance?
Samantha: Yep, I have a couple more collaborative songs coming out soon, one of them in May.
*Get your tickets here.
**Listen for a Samantha Crain classic on the April edition of Philthy Radio, now streaming courtesy of Y-Not Radio.
