For Iron & Wine’s Sam Beam, there are ‘no wrong answers’ in music
Returning to Australia for the first time in eight years, Iron & Wine singer songwriter Sam Beam reflects on the ‘endless joy’ and ‘human experience’ of making music – even when it means learning to let go.
There’s a certain loveliness about the music of Sam Beam, perhaps better known by the name of his long-running indie folk project, Iron & Wine.
Quiet, spacious, melancholic and melodic, Beam’s softly spoken songs have soundtracked lives – and more than a few films – for over two decades now, since the release of his acclaimed 2002 debut album, The Creek Drank the Cradle.
His latest album, Hen’s Teeth, arriving February 27, takes ‘lovely’ to a whole new level: the more serious the words, the more joyful the music. It’s stunning work from the artist, who will also play WOMADelaide for the first time as part of a lengthy Australian tour throughout February and March.
Beam has toured Australia multiple times since 2003, but ahead of his first visit in eight years the singer songwriter is excited to reconnect with local audiences.
“I’ve played in Adelaide a few times,” Beam tells InReview. “It’s beautiful. I’m just looking forward in general to being back. It’s been a long time since I’ve been in Australia – I think the last time was supporting a record called Beast Epic, and that was a while ago. I’m not sure where all the time went, but it’s definitely gone,” he laughs.
Along with American artists Band of Horses, Andrew Bird, Bonnie “Prince” Billy and Joanna Newsom, Beam is one of the giants of an American ‘alt folk’ wave that emerged from the dark of the grunge-riddled ‘90s into the light of the new millennium.
Brimming with heartfelt lyrics and lush instrumentation, Beam’s eighth full-length album channels the dreamy West Coast harmonies and dappled sunshine of early-70s Laurel Canyon. Unsurprisingly, that’s also where he recorded it – with a slew of talented collaborators, including Grammy Award-winning trio I’m With Her.
It’s another evolution for the Carolinas-based artist, his intimate ‘Southern Gothic’ style dovetailing into a more expansive ‘California Dreaming’. (Think Joni, The Mamas & The Papas and Crosby, Stills and Nash). Beam says he’s a massive fan of that ebullient LA sound and musical heritage.
“I’m always channelling it,” he confesses. “It’s always coming out. I love that music.”
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Beam loves music, period. A former film professor who took a sharp left into an unexpected music career, he speaks like he’s the luckiest man alive, who “loves making music more than ever”. I ask why.
“Well, I feel like over the years I have figured out that there’s no wrong answers,” he explains. “So it’s the best job for me.
“It’s just an artform that offers endless inspiration and endless joy to me. There’s nothing in your life that you can’t talk about in a song – for better or for worse! It’s a type of expression. It’s just endlessly inspiring.
“It’s generous and also giving. It holds whatever you want to give to it,” he adds.
Listening to Beam talk about his art evokes the image of an endless cup.
“That’s what it feels like. I mean you have to put the time in and do other things as well, so that you don’t only do music. You know it takes – like any relationship with anything, a person or whatever activity you do in your life – you’ve got to tend to it and actually give it space.
“But it also gives back as much as you want to put in. It’s incredible.”
A father to five daughters and a multi-disciplinary artist who creates the artwork for most of his albums, Beam is not afraid to push himself out of his comfort zone. He loves collaborating and playing solo – his upcoming WOMADelaide set will feature just him alone onstage.
“You know, when we put a record out, I love bringing the band because it’s my favourite part of making music, playing with other people,” he explains. “But I also end up doing a lot of solo shows. And you learn a lot about your songs and you get to connect with the audience in a different way.”
“Because you don’t have to worry about the rhythm section doing their thing, I don’t have to hit the chord the right number of times or everyone’s going to be lost – I can just do ‘whatever’, which is fun. They have an improvisational quality that the band shows don’t.”
Perhaps it’s in this process of ‘letting go’ that Beam finds the magic as a performer – and as a recording artist?
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“Yeah! It’s been very helpful. And it’s also changed the way I make records, you know?
He’s come to appreciate how each performance of a song, from the studio to the stage, captures moments of spontaneous evolution in each song’s life – especially those unplanned.
“The songs [on Hen’s Teeth] are… ‘takes’. They’re a performance from beginning to end. We’re all trying something that we didn’t try in the previous take, and I think that’s important about making a record.
“I mean I come from a fine arts background which is very much about ‘control’… But over the years playing shows has taught me the value of just trying something and seeing what happens.
“You know, I was just so afraid of messing up and feeling like an idiot. But I’ve messed up in front of thousands of people for a long time [now], and no one’s gotten hurt,” he jokes.
At the end of our conversation, Beam offers a deeper refection about the nature of his music.
“The type of music I make, I think, is like a human kind of statement. So, it has flubs and mess ups. And we go faster sometimes and slower sometimes, even in the same song.
“It just feels like a human experience.”
Iron & Wine plays WOMADelaide on Friday March 6, and Brisbane’s Princess Theatre on Monday March 2. Hen’s Teeth is out February 27 via Sub Pop Records.
Read more 2026 Adelaide Festival coverage here on InReview
Iron & Wine 2026 Australian tour dates
Brisbane
Monday March 2
Princess Theatre
Sydney
Wednesday March 4
City Recital Hall
Adelaide
Friday March 6
WOMADelaide
Port Fairy
Saturday March 7 – Sunday March 8
Port Fairy Folk Festival
Melbourne
Tuesday March 10
Northcote Theatre
Hobart
Thursday March 12
Odeon Theatre
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