Your Library is hosting a free performance by renowned storyteller Sam Payne on Wednesday, July 2 at 6 p.m. in the Library’s Jones Meeting Center. This event is made possible through a partnership with the International Storytelling Center.
Payne, who is also a musician, infuses his stories with vibrance and depth by seamlessly moving between speaking and singing. His stage presence, craftsmanship, and soaring tenor voice have established him as a favorite with audiences and critics alike.
According to The Independent magazine, “Payne delivers his riveting tales with passion, emotionally stirring hooks, and an almost supernatural ability to tell a story.”
Payne has brought his stories—punctuated with music that critics have called “jazz-inflected folk”—to Canada, Bulgaria, Tokyo, and from coast to coast in the U.S., including the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, Tenn. and the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. He also serves as the Weber State University Storytelling Fellow.
Along with his performance at the Library on July 2, Payne will also be the featured teller for Storytelling Live!, the International Storytelling Center’s weekly teller-in-residence series. He will perform at the center from July 1-5.
Along with his work as a storyteller, Payne is involved in podcasting and literary projects. He hosts “The Apple Seed,” an award-winning national radio show by BYUradio dedicated to the art of storytelling. Payne was also part of the Peabody-nominated team that created “Treasure Island 2020,” the serial podcast based on Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic novel.
Payne’s writing includes “Sanctuary: The Story of Zion” for the National Parks Service’s centennial and “Echoes of Hammers and Spikes” with Suzanne Payne for the sesquicentennial of the First Transcontinental Railroad’s completion.
We talked with Payne recently about his practice of weaving music and speech to bring an added layer of beauty to stories, and what he hopes audiences take away from his performances.
What kind of stories will you perform at the Library?
When Neil Armstrong stepped onto the moon, he called it “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” I like “giant leap” stories and songs—tales about the leaps that change the world, but also the leaps that change a life. I might tell stories about leaps into outer space or up Mount Everest, but I’m just as likely to tell stories of first dances, first kisses, important meetings and partings, and other giant leaps that are common to all of us.
You seamlessly weave music into your storytelling. What does the combination of singing and speaking create?
Think of the first time you danced with someone you cared about. The words that convey the story of that experience are special, maybe even sacred to you. And in that story there’s also the memory of the song that was playing when you danced. That song becomes an instantaneous gateway to the memory, even if you hear it years and years later. A great song can punctuate and enliven a great story, and a memorable lyric, hook, or rhythm can bring all the resonant elements of a story back to mind in an instant.
What led you to cultivate this approach to storytelling?
I was a songwriter before I was a storyteller, and because I played original songs for audiences—songs they’d never heard before—I often found myself telling the stories behind the songs to help audiences into them. Over time, audiences began to enjoy the stories as much as they enjoyed the songs, and those spoken word moments came to have as big a footprint in my shows as the songs themselves. That’s how those two elements grew up together in my storytelling life.
What do you hope your audience takes away from the experience?
I always hope the stories and songs in my shows spark memories and thoughts for the people who hear them that they can share with the ones they love. That kind of storytelling—the storytelling that happens around kitchen tables and living rooms after the show—makes for memories that last a lifetime.
Discover more about Payne’s work here. Call (423) 434-4454 for more details about his performance at the Library.
Visit our events calendar to find more upcoming opportunities for people of all ages. Follow Johnson City Public Library on Facebook and Instagram to receive updates about Library programs, collections, and services.
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