A Dirty Dozen with SAMMI ACCOLA – April 2026

Photo credit: Penny Kapadoukakis

According to a recent press release: “Nashville-based singer-songwriter Sammi Accola, 24, hails from Seaside, Florida, and crafts cinematic Americana and folk-rock songs that tell honest stories with vulnerability and grit. Accola has opened for Thomas Rhett and performed at major festivals including the 30A Songwriters Festival (five consecutive years), Opelika Songwriters Festival, and Moon Crush Festival, where she opened for Caamp and Brandi Carlile–one of her guiding musical influences. In 2023, Accola formed a 10-piece band, becoming the first all-female act to perform at Belmont University’s “Best of the Best” showcase. She was also named a Nissan & Bose influencer and winner ofthe Belmont Artist Spotlight program.” We get Sammi to discuss new music, influences, and more…

1. Tell us a little about your latest release. What might a fan or listener not grab the first or second time they listen through? Are there any hidden nuggets you put in the material or that only diehard fans might find?

My album, A Candle On A Busy Street, sits in an honest tension of where my heart has been the past few years and weaves in different historical elements, which are DEFINITELY nuggets, ha! The project began with the song “Renaissance,” which came from a conversation with my co-writer, Easton Kerr. It was in the aftermath of the pandemic, a dark time in our world, and we found ourselves reflecting on the 14th to 16th century Renaissance—a movement of art, religion, innovation, and science that emerged after the Dark Ages. We saw a parallel and held onto the hope that maybe, after all this isolation, we might find greater unity together and celebrate the arts again, since they were some of the very things that kept us alive through such a hard season. The song became a call for change—and for “walking each other home,” as the lyric says.

2. What got you into music, and can you tell us about the moment you realized you wanted to be a musician?

I was always singing songs and melodies around the house—probably since I came out of the womb—but it really sparked when I joined the local School of Rock at the age of 8 and took the stage in my lucky pink sparkly Converse. I had a deeper voice for a girl, so when it came to different genre showcases and the guys didn’t want to sing certain songs, they handed me tracks like “Hoochie Coochie Man,” which is still so laughable to me. I had no idea what I was singing about, and you can only imagine a cute blonde white girl in a tulle dress covering Muddy Waters. Eventually, when my family moved to Seaside, Florida, I joined the Seaside Neighborhood School’s “rock band” and finally sang some songs embracing my femininity like “Good Girl” by Carrie Underwood (ha!). I started learning guitar at the age of 16, to help lead worship at my church and expand my passion for music. This led me to attend the 30A Songwriters Festival in 2019, locking arms with my best friend as we stood in the winding line, anticipating the songwriting round. I can still feel the goosebumps—like braille on my neck—from the first time I heard the humble voice of Allen Shamblin, Nashville Hall of Fame songwriter, sing, “I know they say you can’t go home again / I just had to come back one last time,” from “The House That Built Me.” His words understood me. Not only was I three months away from graduating high school and heading to Nashville to pursue songwriting at Belmont University, but I was also grieving the act of leaving home. Before that night, I hadn’t met many professional songwriters. To be in such an intimate setting and to have a conversation with Shamblin—sharing the unabridged story of his journey in Nashville—changed everything for me. His encouragement to keep writing and listening gave me the pre-college confidence I needed before packing up my Taylor guitar and driving north to Tennessee.

3. Building on that, is there a specific song, album, performer, or live show that guided your musical taste?

Lauren Daigle is an artist I’ve admired for years who has carved her own path in the Christian space, crossing genres, celebrating her Louisiana culture, and her song, “Don’t Believe Them” on her latest record written with Natalie Hemby is just gorgeous. Very cinematic, and the arrangement inspired “Mona Lisa” and “Renaissance” off my new record.

4. If you could call in any one collaborator to do a song with, who would it be, and why?

Natalie Hemby, 100%. She is the creator of words, worlds, and melodies behind so many of my favorite artists and records–I wish I could be a fly on the wall in those writing rooms. Further, to collaborate with the Highwomen (a band she and Brandi Carlile are in) would be my dream. More so to harmonize with them and fill some crowded tables!

5. What is your favorite activity when out of the studio and/or not on tour? What do you like to do to unwind?

I am a big walker! It’s how I process my emotions (other than songwriting), and movement is really important. So pretty much every day, rain or shine, sun or snow, I try and get at least a neighborhood or community walk in. I also think it is a simple and efficient way to get to know a city or town you are passing through–I’m like the human version of Dory, saying “Just keep walking! Just keep walking!” But genuinely, it’s so helpful!

6. How would you describe your music to someone who’d never listened to you before? What is the one comparison a reviewer or fan has made that made you cringe or you disagreed with?

I would describe it as compassionate, gritty, compelling, sincere, and cinematic! Cinematic Americana. Thankfully I haven’t had a lot of bad reviews yet… or that I know of, ha! I don’t know what that says about me because they say if you have some haters, you’re doing something right! People mainly have compared me to Jewel and Stevie Nicks, and those are my girls, so I’m always grateful when feedback feels accurate.

7. When your band is hanging out together, who cooks, who gets the drinks in, and who is first to crack out the acoustic guitars for a singalong?

At this point in my career, I’m mainly traveling as a solo artist, but when I do get a full-band show in–I play with all women! I interned at a primarily Christian publishing company in college, and when I learned 90% of writers for that genre were men, and that 90% of listeners for top Christian radio were women–I. Could. Not. Believe. It. So I formed a 10-piece, all-female band and made history performing in Belmont University’s “Best of the Best” showcase in 2023. And I have been playing and producing with all women since then! But through and through, my dear friend and co-writer, Summerlyn Powers, has been a steadfast bandmate and soul sister. We wrote “Holy Woman” and “Turning the Tables” on this new record, and there’s such a comfort on stage whenever she’s there!

8. When was the last time you were starstruck and who was it?

I already mentioned that she’s a hero for me–Brandi Carlile! I met her backstage at Moon Crush Festival in 2022. We were on the same bill that day, which still blows my mind, and I met her and her daughter. I didn’t totally freeze up, but I was starstruck for sure. She was even lovelier in person than I had hoped.

9. What is the best part of being a musician? If you could no longer be a musician for whatever reason, what would be your dream job?

I love creating music, but I’m still not full-time, which is ultimately the dream! For the past three and a half years since I graduated college, I’ve been working for Thistle Farms, a nonprofit that serves women survivors of human trafficking, abuse, and addiction. I am filled up by this work, and it has led to me leading therapeutic songwriting workshops for women in recovery, in all-male prisons in my hometown, and with local youth in Nashville. So… my other dream job would be a music therapist, and I’m actually in the process of going back to school for it! I have a close friend and mentor in Nashville, Kyshona Armstrong, who is both an artist and a licensed music therapist, and her path is very inspiring to me. Imagine traveling on the road performing, alongside investing back into the communities and getting to know the different cultures of people across the country? So cool.

10. What is one question you have always wanted an interviewer to ask – and what is the answer? Conversely, what question are you tired of answering?

“Sammi, how are you doing as a person?” Ha! But really. I love getting to know people, and if a conversation can feel like friendship and not a means to an end, that is such a gift to me. I studied journalism and songwriting in school, and I’m always grateful when the two connect. I worked at a magazine in the past, and I know both the behind-the-camera and in-front-of-the-camera pretty well, and it’s always an honor to be the one being asked the questions. So, thank you for giving artists like me a platform. No small thing! The question I’m tired of being asked is anything that doesn’t feel authentic. I love curated questions and when journalists can dive into your story prior to a meetup and be really specific. That’s helpful to me!

11. Looking back over your career, is there a single moment or situation you feel was a misstep or you would like to have a “do over,” even if it didn’t change your current situation?

I’m still fairly early on, but day by day, I’m learning from my mistakes! I’m an independent artist, which comes with a lot of responsibilities and being your own CEO is no simple thing. There’s an unrelenting to do list and, of course, days when you think you could be doing more. So far, I’ve been really proud of the things I’ve accomplished, but I’m humbled by the communities that have truly lifted me up and invited me into incredible opportunities, like opening for Thomas Rhett in my hometown for 4,000 people (like, come on, dream!) and playing 30a Songwriters Festival for five consecutive years (truly my Christmas). Then, there’s always a voice in my head of “what if you went full into music right now and dropped your day job?” And though there is the hope of greater musical financial sustainability, right now that isn’t the case, and there’s practical elements to life and marriage that I believe I need to steward as well. I’m really grateful for my path so far, and I’m reminded that Nashville is a 10-year-town, and I’m trying to be patient.

12. If you could magically go back in time and be a part of the recording sessions for any one record in history, which would you choose – and what does that record mean to you?

My favorite song of all time is “Both Sides Now” by Joni Mitchell–and where I would really want to be is in her brain when she was picking chords, sorting through rhymes, and conceptually dreaming. She is such a revolutionary songwriter, and I admire her in so many ways. Also, Laurel Canyon in the ’70s? That would be an experience!

SAMMI ACCOLA LINKS:

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Category: Interviews