Sam Outlaw was born in the Midwest, grew up in California, and now lives in Nashville. "Outlaw" is his mother's maiden name.

Sam worked as an advertising executive in his twenties while writing songs as a hobby and eventually started performing at small bar gigs near his home in Los Angeles. In 2015, Sam left his advertising career to pursue music full-time when he was offered a tour opening for Justin Townes Earle.

Later that year, Sam released his debut album "Angeleno," produced and performed by Ry Cooder and Joachim Cooder and featuring Gabe Witcher (Punch Brothers), Bo Koster (My Morning Jacket), and Taylor Goldsmith (Dawes). "Angeleno" garnered universal acclaim and multiple award nominations.

In 2017, Sam released his follow-up album, "Tenderheart." Also a critical success, "Tenderheart" was heralded as one of the year's best country albums and took home “International Song of the Year” at the UK Americana Awards in London.

Sam has toured extensively as a headlining artist at marquee festivals such as Stagecoach, Pilgrimage Music Festival, and Hardly Strictly Bluegrass. Sam has also toured in support of beloved artists such as John Prine, Kacey Musgraves, Dwight Yoakam, Clint Black, Margo Price, and Sheryl Crow.

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In 2018, Sam and his family moved from LA to Nashville, and the following year, Sam made his Grand Ole Opry debut. Since then, Sam has made several appearances on the Grand Ole Opry and on countless more stages around the world.

In 2021 he released his third LP "Popular Mechanics" and in 2024 released his latest LP Terra Cotta, two albums that blend ‘80s style synth-pop and country music to create a sound that Sam calls “New Wave Western”. Sam Outlaw admirers include Ryan Adams who has publicly praised him for his “beyond great songwriting” and the late John Prine that welcomed Sam to open some of his final shows.

On March 24th, Sam Outlaw released “The Nonessential”—a twelve-track LP featuring nine previously released singles and B-sides alongside three brand-new songs. Outlaw calls it his “anti-greatest-hits album,” a home for the orphaned tracks that never fit on his earlier EPs or LPs. For their proper album debut, all twelve songs were newly remastered by Grammy-winning engineer Pete Lyman (Chris Stapleton, Sturgill Simpson). In 2025, Outlaw toured extensively throughout the US, UK, and Europe in support of “The Nonessential”.