# Sam Williams (singer)
**Sam Williams** (born 1997) is an American country singer and songwriter, the son of [Hank Williams Jr.](https://www.edgepedia.org/hank-williams-jr) and the grandson of [Hank Williams](https://www.edgepedia.org/hank-williams), known for a moody, introspective style that blends country with pop, hip-hop, and R&B rather than imitating his family's sound.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sam-williams-mn0003339197) His debut album, *Glasshouse Children*, was released on Mercury Nashville in 2021, and his recent work includes the two released installments of a planned trilogy, *Act I: Scarlet Lonesome* (2024) and *Act II: COUNTRYSTAR* (2025).[2](https://musicrow.com/2021/08/sam-williams-connects-rich-country-roots-with-modern-perspective-on-glasshouse-children-interview/) • [3](https://tasteofcountry.com/sam-williams-act-2-countrystar-ep-interview-2025/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1997; sources give Nashville, Tennessee[4](https://www.opry.com/artists/sam-williams) or New Braunfels, Texas[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sam-williams-mn0003339197) |
| Family | Son of Hank Williams Jr., grandson of Hank Williams, half-brother of Hank Williams III[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sam-williams-mn0003339197) |
| First singles | "Darkwater" (2016), blues-influenced; "The Lost Grandchild's Plea" (2018), an ode to grandparents Hank and Audrey Williams[4](https://www.opry.com/artists/sam-williams) |
| Debut album | *Glasshouse Children*, August 20, 2021, Mercury Nashville; deluxe edition October 2022 added "Tilted Crown"[2](https://musicrow.com/2021/08/sam-williams-connects-rich-country-roots-with-modern-perspective-on-glasshouse-children-interview/) • [5](https://www.samwilliamsofficial.com/about/) |
| Notable collaboration | "Happy All The Time," a duet with Dolly Parton, secured after Williams wrote her a two-page letter[2](https://musicrow.com/2021/08/sam-williams-connects-rich-country-roots-with-modern-perspective-on-glasshouse-children-interview/) |
| Trilogy | *Act I: Scarlet Lonesome* (2024); *Act II: COUNTRYSTAR*, released July 11, 2025, fusing country with hip-hop[5](https://www.samwilliamsofficial.com/about/) • [3](https://tasteofcountry.com/sam-williams-act-2-countrystar-ep-interview-2025/) |
| Cirque du Soleil | "Carnival Heart" (2024) served as the official anthem of *Songblazers: A Journey Into Country Music*[5](https://www.samwilliamsofficial.com/about/) |
## Family background
Williams was born into one of country music's best-known families. His grandfather Hank Williams, whose recording career Williams has described as spanning only 1946 to 1952, remains one of the genre's foundational figures; his father Hank Williams Jr. built an outlaw-country career after years of singing his father's songs; and his half-brother [Hank Williams III](https://www.edgepedia.org/hank-williams-iii) is a country-punk artist.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sam-williams-mn0003339197) • [6](https://theboot.com/interview-sam-williams-debut-album-glasshouse-children-is-a-success-no-matter-what/) • [2](https://musicrow.com/2021/08/sam-williams-connects-rich-country-roots-with-modern-perspective-on-glasshouse-children-interview/) His father had relocated to Paris, Tennessee, a couple of hours outside Nashville, and Williams grew up there on Highway 79, caring more about sports than music as a child.[7](https://holler.country/feature/interview/introducing-sam-williams/) • [4](https://www.opry.com/artists/sam-williams)
The family's history entered his songwriting early. "The Lost Grandchild's Plea" (2018) was written as an ode to the grandparents he never met, Hank and [Audrey Williams](https://www.edgepedia.org/audrey-williams).[4](https://www.opry.com/artists/sam-williams) In 2020 his older sister Katie died in a car accident, a loss he discussed in a 2021 interview while continuing to release music.[7](https://holler.country/feature/interview/introducing-sam-williams/)
## Early career
Williams moved back to Nashville at 18 to take entertainment classes at [Belmont University](https://www.edgepedia.org/belmont-university), and began adapting his poems into songs after becoming a father at 19.[7](https://holler.country/feature/interview/introducing-sam-williams/) • [1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sam-williams-mn0003339197) He released his debut single, "Darkwater," in 2016, followed by "The Lost Grandchild's Plea" in 2018.[4](https://www.opry.com/artists/sam-williams) He signed a global publishing and artist development deal with Get It Done Music Entertainment (Missi Gallimore and Gary Borman) and Kobalt, and co-wrote with writers including [Lori McKenna](https://www.edgepedia.org/lori-mckenna), Shawn Camp, Dan Tyminski, Jim Lauderdale, and Mary Gauthier.[4](https://www.opry.com/artists/sam-williams) He made his [Grand Ole Opry](https://www.edgepedia.org/grand-ole-opry) debut wearing his grandfather's hat.[7](https://holler.country/feature/interview/introducing-sam-williams/)
## Glasshouse Children
*Glasshouse Children* was released on August 20, 2021, via Mercury Nashville.[2](https://musicrow.com/2021/08/sam-williams-connects-rich-country-roots-with-modern-perspective-on-glasshouse-children-interview/) Rolling Stone Australia described the album as a mix of synth-pop, emo-Americana, and pop-country, made with Nashville producers including Jaren Johnston and Paul Moak.[8](https://au.rollingstone.com/music/music-country/sam-williams-hank-williams-grandson-30571/) Williams told the magazine that he writes about his own life rather than imitating his grandfather's: "I didn't live that person's life... My grandfather was raised in rural south Alabama in the 1930s. I grew up in the 2000s, privileged."[8](https://au.rollingstone.com/music/music-country/sam-williams-hank-williams-grandson-30571/)
The album includes "Happy All The Time," a duet with [Dolly Parton](https://www.edgepedia.org/dolly-parton). After professional avenues failed, Williams wrote Parton a two-page letter about his life and what the song meant to him, passed to her through a mutual friend, and she agreed to sing on it.[2](https://musicrow.com/2021/08/sam-williams-connects-rich-country-roots-with-modern-perspective-on-glasshouse-children-interview/) • [8](https://au.rollingstone.com/music/music-country/sam-williams-hank-williams-grandson-30571/) A deluxe edition followed in October 2022, featuring "Tilted Crown," a reflective track about navigating his family legacy; in its music video Williams sits alone in a theater watching his life and legacy play out onstage.[5](https://www.samwilliamsofficial.com/about/) • [9](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Hits/20s/Hits-2025-06-16.pdf) In 2023 he released a string of singles and played multiple shows at the Grand Ole Opry, Nashville's CMA Fest, and the UK's Country 2 Country Festival.[5](https://www.samwilliamsofficial.com/about/)
## The trilogy: Scarlet Lonesome and COUNTRYSTAR
In 2024 Williams contributed "Carnival Heart" to *Songblazers: A Journey Into Country Music*, a country-themed show produced and presented by [Cirque du Soleil](https://www.edgepedia.org/cirque-du-soleil) and Universal Music Group Nashville, and the song served as the show's official anthem.[5](https://www.samwilliamsofficial.com/about/) • [1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sam-williams-mn0003339197) Later that year he released *Act I: Scarlet Lonesome*, the first installment of a planned three-act trilogy, which he described as exploring the tension between fear and love, past and future.[5](https://www.samwilliamsofficial.com/about/)
*Act II: COUNTRYSTAR* arrived on July 11, 2025, with Williams co-writing all seven tracks.[3](https://tasteofcountry.com/sam-williams-act-2-countrystar-ep-interview-2025/) The EP fuses country roots with hip-hop and contemporary R&B. Its track "Honkytonkin'" borrows the chorus of his grandfather's "Honky Tonkin'," which Hank Williams recorded in 1947, according to Billboard's CMA Fest coverage, and scored a hit with in 1948; his father took his own rendition to No. 1 in 1982.[3](https://tasteofcountry.com/sam-williams-act-2-countrystar-ep-interview-2025/) • [10](https://s3.amazonaws.com/bulletins.billboard.com/country/country_update_2025_0613.pdf) Another track, "Fugitive," which Williams called his favorite on the project, marked his first work with the hip-hop producer Yung Lan.[3](https://tasteofcountry.com/sam-williams-act-2-countrystar-ep-interview-2025/) "When I'm writing a song like 'Countrystar,' I know that this is not for Nashville's country music scene," he told Taste of Country, adding that his lineage and upbringing are "the country in me."
## Musical style
AllMusic's biography characterizes Williams as a moody, introspective singer-songwriter whose low-key, emotionally intimate approach sits closer to contemporary folk and moody pop than to the honky-tonk tradition of his father and grandfather.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sam-williams-mn0003339197) His early singles drew on roots music, with a blues influence on "Darkwater" and vintage country on "The Lost Grandchild's Plea," while his cited influences include [Ed Sheeran](https://www.edgepedia.org/ed-sheeran), [Drake](https://www.edgepedia.org/drake-musician), Tyler Childers, and [Margo Price](https://www.edgepedia.org/margo-price).[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sam-williams-mn0003339197) The Opry profile credits him with "a striking tone and poetic approach to songwriting" and notes that his father considers his vocal talent the best in the family.[4](https://www.opry.com/artists/sam-williams) In interviews he has framed songwriting as a form of therapy, valuing material that is "straight from the heart."[4](https://www.opry.com/artists/sam-williams)
## References
1. [Sam Williams Biography, AllMusic (Mark Deming)](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sam-williams-mn0003339197)
2. [Sam Williams Connects Rich Country Roots With Modern Perspective On 'Glasshouse Children' [Interview], MusicRow (August 20, 2021)](https://musicrow.com/2021/08/sam-williams-connects-rich-country-roots-with-modern-perspective-on-glasshouse-children-interview/)
3. [Sam Williams Expands His Family Legacy on New 'Act II: Countrystar' EP [Exclusive Interview], Taste of Country (July 15, 2025)](https://tasteofcountry.com/sam-williams-act-2-countrystar-ep-interview-2025/)
4. [Sam Williams, Grand Ole Opry artist page](https://www.opry.com/artists/sam-williams)
5. [About, Sam Williams official site](https://www.samwilliamsofficial.com/about/)
6. [Interview: Sam Williams' Debut Album Is a Success No Matter What, The Boot](https://theboot.com/interview-sam-williams-debut-album-glasshouse-children-is-a-success-no-matter-what/)
7. [Introducing: Sam Williams, Holler (March 22, 2021)](https://holler.country/feature/interview/introducing-sam-williams/)
8. [Sam Williams Is Hank Williams' Grandson. His Debut Album Sounds Nothing Like You'd Expect, Rolling Stone Australia (September 16, 2021)](https://au.rollingstone.com/music/music-country/sam-williams-hank-williams-grandson-30571/)
9. [Hits magazine, June 16, 2025 ("Tilted Crown" video description), WorldRadioHistory](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Hits/20s/Hits-2025-06-16.pdf)
10. [Billboard Country Update, June 13, 2025](https://s3.amazonaws.com/bulletins.billboard.com/country/country_update_2025_0613.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musicians and ensembles › Individual musical biographies › Country, gospel, and western singers › Bluegrass, Americana, and alt-country singers › Outlaw, Texas country, and Americana singers › Americana and alt-country singers*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license