South Carolina native Sam Beam performs under the stage name Iron & Wine, a name he took from the label of a dietary supplement, “Beef, Iron and Wine”. Beam studied Art at VCU and then Florida State. From there he took a position as a Professor of film and cinematography at the University of Miami and Miami International University of Art and Design, while also writing songs and recording demos.
Iron & Wine released his first album in 2002, the home recorded The Creek Drank the Cradle and around the same time recorded a cover of the Postal Services Such Great Heights. Rather than appearing on an Iron & Wine release, the song was released by the Postal Service as the b side of their version. For his second record Beam moved to a professional studio where he was backed by additional musicians. More musicians and a better studio led to a different sound
Iron & Wine began collaboration with the Arizona band Calexico in 2005 with the EP In the Reins, Beam had written the songs much earlier and Calexico added their southwestern influenced arrangements to complete the album. The musicians have continued to work together with their most recent work coming in 2019 with the release of the album Years to Burn.
