Sam Riggs
Photo: Natalie Rhea

Sam Riggs on Flying Planes, Next Album, Texas Music Scene

Rising artist Sam Riggs is our guest today. If I had one word to describe him, it's ambitious. After just a few minutes of talking with Riggs, I got the sense that he is both incredibly driven and laser-focused on whatever he's doing, be it music or flying his Cessna over the Guadalupe Mountains. That relentless drive and desire to expand creatively have resulted in a career that's taken flight in just a few years.

Videos by Wide Open Country

Riggs' first full-length album, 2013's Outrun The Sun, helped pushed Riggs through the boundaries of the Texas scene into the national spotlight. His follow-up, last year's Breathless, peaked at No. 12 on the country charts -- an impressive feat for an independent artist. This year, he's working on a new record that he hopes to finish up by the end of 2017. He says it will be something completely different than Breathless. At the end of our conversation, Riggs plays a few of the new songs, which you can also view by watching the videos below.

On the podcast today, Sam tells the story of how he went from working manual labor in a small Florida town to one of the most top rising artists in the Texas scene.

For a list of Sam's upcoming tour dates, click here.

"The Story of You and Me", "Don't Stop Now"

"Faith"

More Texas artists on the Wide Open Country Podcast:

Kyle Park

Whitney Rose

Brennen Leigh

The Derailers

Reckless Kelly 

Redd Volkaert

Mike & the Moonpies

Shane Smith & the Saints

Carson McHone

See Also: Sam Riggs Steps Towards National Success with Breathless

Now Watch: Rising Artists You Should Follow in 2017