'Family tradition': Sam Williams comes to Montgomery with his own spin on legacy
Sam Williams is a man with an undeniable legacy in music, and in Montgomery. After all, how many other musicians have a statue of their late grandfather watching over the city’s downtown music scene?
“I took pictures with it four or five years ago,” said Williams, the grandson of country icon Hank Williams and son of outlaw country superstar Hank Williams Jr.
More: 100 years of Hank Williams: Country-western music singer's impact ripples through time
The young Williams, who is 22 and also a father, will have an acoustic show in Montgomery at 9 p.m. Sunday at 1048 Jazz & Blues, 1104 E. Fairview Ave. He’ll be followed by the Rachael Wilson Duo. There’s a $10 cover charge.
“I just want people to have a good time,” Williams said.
Rachael Wilson said she's very honored to get to share the stage with country music royalty.
"I think Sam has taken the reins of his family legacy in such a beautiful way, and I'm so excited to hear everything he has to share with the world," Wilson said. "The first song my grandmother Cubie Wilson taught me on guitar was Hank Williams' 'Your Cheatin' Heart,' and now to hear songs from Sam Williams like 'Glasshouse Children,' it's so deeply touching to hear these tales of pain and love delivered to us through music. The Williams men have had a way of effortlessly singing about the things that we're all too uncomfortable to talk about, we've always listened and we always will."
It’s been about a year since he was last in the Montgomery area on a visit with family.
“It’s going to be fun for me to come back there,” Williams said. “You know, my grandfather is really this son of Alabama. I’m more of a son of Tennessee.”
1048 finds itself in good company. Recently, Williams’ live performances include places close to his home, like the Grand Ole Opry and Nashville Palace.
Touring is becoming more natural. He’s worked with stars like Cam, with whom he performed in London in 2019 when he was still a nervous teenager. In the five years since, Williams has become much more confident in his travels, including a memorable show in a huge cathedral in Berlin.
“It was really like a church,” Williams said. “Everyone sat in pews.”
Last weekend, Williams had a show in Jamaica.
“Other than that, I’ve really only done extensive touring in Europe with Marty Stuart,” Williams said. “I remember singing ‘I’m So Lonesome’ there, before I reimagined it and made my own version of it.”
Sam Williams balancing history and original future
While Nashville’s connection to the evolving music world is undeniable, Williams said Montgomery is where his father grew up, and the city has kept more of a link to its past.
“I think it just feels more historical and real there. You can get a sense of, wow, that really was only 70-some-odd years ago,” Williams said, referring to when his 29-year-old grandfather died Jan. 1, 1953, while being driven to a performance.
“In Nashville, it kind of seems like, wow, that was eons ago. Nothing’s the same anymore up here,” Williams said.
That balance of past and future is at the core for Williams, who recently released the single "Till I Can Make It On My Own" with Carter Faith.
“You know, my life often looks like a history book and a comic from the future together,” Williams said. “My everyday life, it always feels like that. That’s just me. I like to show people me, so I’m excited to come back.”
Williams, whose second album will release sometime later this year, describes his sound as universal and said he has a lot of influences beyond his father and grandfather. With his latest work, he’s trying to step himself and his music past any preconceived notions of who he is.
“It can be alternative country in a way, but kind of in a way that applies influences and sensibilities from pop, R&B and hip hop,” Williams said. “My new album coming out this year is going to be a big, fat album with lots of different types of music on it.”
He said the new project offers a wider perspective of himself, painting musical pictures of where he’s at, where he’s been, and where he’s going. One particular piece called ‘Heard Mary Jane Prayin’ For Me,’ is dedicated to Williams’ late mother, Mary Jane Thomas, who died in 2022.
“The first few songs on the album are pretty reflective and deep kinds of songs,” Williams said. “And then its kind of a journey throughout different sounds that I’ve been working on. It’s kind of like a new proper introduction, even though it’s my second album coming out.”
Also this year, Williams said he has really big news ahead about another project he’s been a partner in, though he can’t release details yet.
“I’m excited for everything coming this year. I really am,” Williams said.
Making his own path, like his dad did
Williams is frequently compared to his grandfather, especially in looks — most notably the Hank ears. But what is it he’s taken away from his father’s vast career?
More: Hank Williams history: A look back on the country-western music icon's life
“What he (Hank Jr.) may have taken initially from his dad early on was a relatability, an authenticity in writing, and writing a lot of your own music story,” Williams said. “My dad did a good job at rewriting his story to make it his in all aspects, from the ‘70s on.”
Likewise, Williams said it was important to him at the beginning to set himself apart.
“I didn’t really want to have to do the ’11 Roses’ era that my dad did, and doing all of his dad’s songs,” Williams said.
He likes being both similar to his elders, and being different from them. It works well with what Williams admits is an unconventional career.
“It’s positioned me well to have a wider marketability, a wider reach, and a wider perspective than if I had to start with imitation,” Williams said.
Follow Williams online at samwilliamsofficial.com.
Montgomery Advertiser reporter Shannon Heupel covers things to do in the River Region. Contact him at sheupel@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: 'Family tradition': Sam Williams brings music, legacy to Montgomery
