Iron & Wine

Sam Beam, known by his stage name, Iron & Wine, is an indie-folk singer-songwriter. The name Iron & Wine is taken from a dietary supplement named "Beef, Iron & Wine" that he found in a general store while shooting a film.

Beam earned a bachelor's degree in art from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia. He specialized in painting before graduating from the Florida State University Film School with an MFA degree. Prior to the release of his first album, 2002's The Creek Drank the Cradle, Beam was a professor of film and cinematography.

Kiss Each Other Clean, Iron & Wine's fourth full-length album, was released on January 25, 2011. With this album, Beam blended his earlier styles with a stronger pop influence. Kiss Each Other Clean peaked at #2 on the Billboard 200 album chart, the highest position one of Iron & Wine's albums has held on that chart to date.

On June 14, 2019, Calexico and Iron & Wine released their first collaboration album together, Years to Burn. Years to Burn was nominated for Best Americana Album in the 62nd Grammy Awards. A song from Years to Burn, "Father Mountain," was nominated in the 62nd Grammy Awards for Best American Roots Performance.

Beam was raised in South Carolina before moving to Virginia and then Florida to attend school. He now resides in Durham, North Carolina, with his wife and five daughters.