A week of stories and songs at “Perfect” Jonesborough Theater | Entertainment

Sam Payne comes from a line of traveling musicians with a story to tell.

Guitar in hand, Payne will be the next artist-in-residence at the International Storytelling Center from June 28 to July 2. He is working in a tradition established by his father, a door-to-door salesman who sold his own folk music albums in the 1970s.

Payne’s father combined the mundane work of a traveling salesman with the creative life of a working artist. “It was a really mystical way of making a living,” said Payne, who lives in Utah. “He would just go out in the morning and knock on doors. If he sold a lot of records, there would be a lot of dinner. And if he didn’t, there would be a little dinner.

On the road today, Payne still talks to people who remember these unusual encounters where his father would sing songs from his records in their living room.

Having refused his father’s gift of a ukulele at the tender age of 8, Payne was well into adulthood before becoming a musician himself. His younger brother showed up at his door late at night. “He handed me a guitar and said, ‘You’re the only one of us who can’t play, and frankly, we’re tired of it,’” recalls Payne. He immediately went to work.

On the Jonesborough stage, Payne’s folk and jazz songs will mark stories about his life and family. He will also be inspired by his repertoire of stories about American space exploration, a subject that has captivated him since he was a child. The true stories of the Mir space station, the Mars rover and the James Webb Telescope captured Payne’s imagination as a young boy stargazing at night. He still remembers watching the Columbia space shuttle launch on a television that the school librarian brought into her classroom for the occasion.

Payne’s appearance in Jonesborough is made possible by Storytelling Live! program, a seasonal concert series that brings a new storyteller to town every week through the end of October. Matinee concerts are every day, from Tuesday to Saturday, at 2 pm

As part of its state-of-the-art online venue, which expands accessibility for audiences unable to attend live performances in person, the International Storytelling Center will record and stream one of Payne’s concerts. That feature will be available online from Thursday, June 30, until the following Monday at midnight. Online tickets are $15 per household.

Like many storytellers, the pandemic forced Payne to get creative with video conferencing and other tools. He has been blown away by his ability to connect with people during remote performances, but he is beyond excited to be back on stage with a real audience.

“There’s nothing like being in a room together,” he says. “The beautiful theater, Mary B. Martin Storytelling Hall, is a perfect place to share stories. There is nothing like that. I am excited beyond belief. The public will have new experiences with my work, because there are many new things.”

The main sponsor of Storytelling Live! it is bioPURE. Additional funding for the program comes from the National Endowment for the Arts, Tennessee Commission on the Arts, US Department of the Treasury, Niswonger Foundation, ETSU, East Tennessee Foundation, Humanities Tennessee, Hillhouse Creative, Carol & Bobby Frist, Norris Family Fund, Dollywood’s DreamMore Resort and Spa, and the Frist Foundation. Media sponsors include Herald & Tribune, Johnson City Press, Kingsport Times-News, Cumulus Media, News Channel 11, WJHL 11, ABC Tri-Cities, and Daytime Tri-Cities.

The International Storytelling Center is open from 10 am to 5 pm, Monday through Saturday. For more information on Storytelling Live!, including the full schedule, or to purchase tickets and season passes, visit www.storytellingcenter.net or call (800) 952-8392.