Samantha Crain launches fall tour tonight, plans to release new album in early 2013

Shawnee alt/folk/indie singer-songwriter Samantha Crain is hitting the road this month, playing 21 dates with William Elliott Whitmore, as well as a few headline and festival shows over the next several weeks. Crain’s trek begins tonight in Raleigh, N.C., at the Hopscotch Music Festival, and she’ll join Whitmore in Pittsburgh, Penn., on Wednesday.

The great state of Oklahoma has been the birthplace of exceptional musicians including Woody Guthrie, Garth Brooks and the Flaming Lips, and Crain is following in those footsteps. Her quirky, expressive voice and knack for narrative storytelling was lauded when she released in 2010 her second solo album, “You (Understood),” a contemplative collection of songs about 16 people who affected her during the writing and recording of the album.

“You (Understood)” and Crain received glowing praise from media outlets like the New York Times (“…a promising young storyteller with fealty to ragged, country-driven indie-pop and an alluring dark streak.”), Rolling Stone (“Samantha Crain writes folk music, but she belts out notes like she’s singing R&B.”), and SPIN (“…her confident storytelling belies her young years.”). It also was on my top 10 albums of 2010 list.

Crain has just finished recording her next solo album, produced by John Vanderslice (Death Cab for Cutie), that will be released on Ramseur Records in early 2013. She plans to debut some of the new songs at these upcoming shows, according to a news release.