Sophomore album coming soon.
With the lines between country and folk blurring together more frequently as of late, highlighted by the success of Zach Bryan, Dylan Gossett, Wyatt Flores and more, Sam Barber has established himself as one fastest-rising artists as of late. Since breaking out with his viral hit, “Straight and Narrow,” back in 2022, Barber has been one of the premier artists in the ever-growing country-folk scene over the past few years. With one of the most unique, raspy voices in the genre, a knack for penning some moving, self-critical tracks and a style that sounds like a mix between early Zach Bryan and folk bands like The Lumineers, Barber has continued to impress from release to release.
After dropping his debut album, Restless Mind, back in 2024, which contained the certified-platinum smash hit with Avery Anna, “Indigo,” Barber followed that up with another stellar EP last year, Music for the Soul. Released on August 1st, the EP contained seven songs, including the buzzy, sleeper hit, “Man of the Year,” which has already racked up an impressive 55 million streams on Spotify alone.
Attempting to build on the success he’s had over the past four years, Barber is setting his sights on another huge year in 2026. In addition to setting out on his The American Route Tour back in January, the “Thought of You” singer would also signal to fans that his highly-anticipated sophomore album is officially in the works and coming “early in the new year.”
Like his recent release with Avery Anna, “Fear In God,” Barber would take to Instagram on Thursday to give fans another new teaser for the album, “Borrowed Time,” before going ahead and officially releasing it just hours later today, March 6th.
Similar to “Fear In God” with Anna, “Borrowed Time” sees Barber once again evolving his sound. Forgoing the extremely acoustic, stripped-back production that has been his sweet spot throughout a majority of his career thus far, the track sees the 22-year-old singer/songwriter once again playing with a more rocking, anthemic sound here.
What results in an extremely unique song in Barber’s discography that ultimately pushes the boundary of what you’d expect from a song from him here on “Borrowed Time.” Seemingly grappling with a friend struggling with some personal demons, most likely addiction, Barber ultimately tells them to leave, taking their “disease” with them.
“Before you leave, take your disease
Then again, I’m aware that you tend to come and go as you please
Before you go, just know you’re wrong
Then again, I’m aware that you tend to fake what you know”
Overall, “Borrowed Time” is a stellar preview to Barber’s sophomore album. Clearly trying to take a step up both sonically and lyrically here, I think it’s safe to say that he’s taking some risks that pay off. While there’s still no set release date for the upcoming record, today’s track should hold fans over quite well until an announcement.
“Borrowed Time”
The American Route Tour
March 12-13 – Madison, Wisconsin – The Sylvee $#
March 14 – Waukee, Iowa – Vibrant Music Hall &
March 19 – Fort Wayne, Indiana – Clyde Theatre &
March 20 – Grand Rapids, Michigan – GLC Live at 20 Monroe &
April 24 – Indio, California – Stagecoach
May 7 – Omaha, Nebraska – The Astro Amphitheater +*
May 8 – Wichita, Kansas – Wave Outdoors +*
May 9 – Little Rock, Arkansas – First Security Amphitheater +*
May 14 – Virginia Beach, Virginia – The Dome +*
May 15 – Charleston, South Carolina – Firefly Distillery +*
May 16 – Huntsville, Alabama – The Orion Amphitheater +*
May 21 – Clearwater, Florida – The BayCare Sound +*
May 22 – Pompano Beach, Florida – Pompano Beach Amphitheater +*
May 23 – St. Augustine, Florida – St. Augustine Amphitheater +*
June 4 – Raleigh, North Carolina – Red Hat Amphitheater $#
June 5 – Charlotte, North Carolina – Skyla Credit Union Amphitheater $#
June 6 – Lexington, Kentucky – Railbird Music Festival
* Bebe Stockwell
$ Waylon Wyatt
# Wild Horses
& Clover County
+ Michael Marcagi
