Humble beginnings in the entertainment industry are stories we know all too well. Dolly Parton started her music career by performing for her local radio station in Tennessee, Taylor Swift performed at local coffee shops during the summer, and Lainey Wilson had a Hannah Montana impersonator act.
Local country music artist, Samantha Spano has been connected to music since the very beginning. If you’re not familiar with Spano, she’s a recent Monmouth University (MU) graduate who was featured on Blue Hawk Records’ (BHR) 2021 compilation album, “Vol. 19: Back On Track” with her song “Whiskey Don’t Work.” Dubbing herself the “coastal cowgirl,” Spano has performed all around New Jersey and is now making her way into the Nashville music scene.
I had the absolute pleasure of interviewing Spano in celebration of her re-recording that very track that came out of our university. As she continues to pursue her music career as a country artist, Spano is reflecting on her time at MU.
After weighing her options on colleges, she found herself here at MU ready to get involved in whatever she could. “It was two weeks into September, not even, and they [BHR] were posting about auditions, and I didn’t really feel like anything I had at that time was good enough…I really wanted to go in there and just impress them,” Spano said about wanting to audition for the compilation album.
While holding herself to a very high standard of wanting to create something amazing, she tried to sit down and write. Fortunately, (or unfortunately) during this time in her life, Spano experienced her first relationship and breakup. I’m sure we all know what it’s like to be in a relationship with someone where it feels like it’s the best place until you’re out of it.
“So I broke up with this guy in December right before the song came out which is hysterical…As I started writing the song it all came into fruition of like, wow, I’m really feeling the things that I’m writing,” She said. Spano detailed that she could remember the exact moment certain lyrics came to her for “Whiskey Don’t Work,” especially the bridge.
Sitting in her intro to sociology class she heard the bridge echo in her mind: “And I should’ve known/When the bottle tastes too good, you quit drinkin’/And I should’ve known/When everyone said, ‘the hell were you thinking’/Like your tattooed name/I can’t erase the pain/Like a bittersweet kiss/It felt good on my lips.” Spano said she immediately jotted down the lyrics in her notebook.
“I was writing down the lyrics in the margin. And then all of a sudden there was a bridge…I still have this paper, my mom has it somewhere,” Spano said. Thankfully, BHR fell in love with her song and with the help of Abby Garcia and Mike Viani, they brought this country track to life. In my opinion, this track is one of the greatest to be featured on a compilation album in BHR history because of the story, vocals, and overall production.
After college, Spano realized that this track might just be a song that stands the test of time, becoming unforgettable. She said, “It was always kind of like, that song was timeless, like shifting throughout these phases of my life where it’s like, okay, maybe it’s not the breakup I have to get over anymore. Maybe it’s like mourning my teenage years or I’m heartbroken over losing a friend…and the more I started to play it, I would see people connecting with it. As soon as that first note comes out, they’re like locked in.”
This song has that “arena” feel where the pain and passion could resonate with the masses. If people can listen, feel connected, inspired, and even relate to those words or melodies then an artist has struck gold. We all know the story of Olivia Rodrigo’s “drivers license” in 2021 and the success of Taylor Swift’s original “All Too Well” in 2012. These are songs fans just couldn’t get enough of, making them cultural staples in music. Spano seeing people cry to her song while she performed was confirmation that she created something with meaning.
Which leads me to her reimagining of her song, “Whiskey Don’t Work (Anymore),” but with updated country twang. In 2023, Spano released “Lie to Me” followed by her fan favorite song, “GUNSLINGER!” in 2024. Naturally, people wanted to hear more from Spano and she knew she wanted to give this song new life to reflect the present her as an artist.
“I knew I needed this updated version with more mature vocals. I wanted the fiddle. I wanted the pedal steel [guitar]. I wanted my band on it because when I recorded it the first time. I didn’t even know Nick, Zach, and Shane [her band members],” Spano explained. It was important to her that the people who supported and influenced this track, got to experience the magic with her.
The updated song was recorded at Shorefire Recording Studios in Long Branch, New Jersey. It was there that Spano and her band played around with the mechanics until it sounded like their vision. The new version, of course, honors the original lyrics and melody, while offering a more mature vocal outlook. Spano isn’t that heartbroken 18 year old girl anymore. In fact, I view her as someone who is way more talented, stronger than she knows, and this phase in her life reflects that.
She explained how it’s cool to see that no matter what instrumental changes they did in the studio, the lyrics still reflected who she was in college. She said, “So, that’s so cool because I go back and I look at the phase of life that I was in back then and how this song has moved with me to now being in Nashville…If anything, it just makes me proud of like 18 year old me for taking that, you know, terrible position I was in and turning it into this thing that I can carry with me always in a good way.”
Spano carries those stories of her music and branded them into her image the “coastal cowgirl.” From performing at Barefoot Country Music Fest to local Jersey joints like Jenks Club in Point Pleasant Beach, people can’t seem to get enough of the coastal image. As she continues to lean into her Jersey roots, she’ll bring more representation for the average country music fan. Afterall, not all of us can relate to some of the off-road Chevy trucking or lake side fishing that other country artists depict. As Spano described it, “people need to see themselves in you and know like, ‘wow I’m represented in country music.’ I live by the beach, but I love country music, and like I have the same values and same morals as Lainey Wilson or Jason Aldean.”
Her new and improved “Whiskey Don’t Work (Anymore)” is set to release on Nov. 7 on streaming platforms. If there’s one name to come out of Monmouth University and blow up the music industry, it’s Spano. She credits a lot of this to learning, growing, and networking during her college years.
While she still waits for that pivotal turning point in her career she’ll never forget her time here. Spano is one of us, a hawk for life and a proud Jersey girl. Whether you’ve been cheated, mistreated, or jaded; her lyrics encompass growing through the changes of life.
So set your alarms for Nov. 7 and meet your new favorite country artist. Let’s get one thing straight, this type of whiskey comes in an unlimited supply and works like a charm!
