Americana Music Magazine – Bluegrass, Roots, Folk, Blues, and Old-Time
Pam Linton grew up in rural central Minnesota (St. Stephen, specifically) and she says, “In that little-bitty town, music was what entertained us.” Pam knew very early on that she wanted to be directly involved with the making of that music. As a matter of fact, she says, “I told my second grade teacher I was going to be a singer.”
Of course small towns do have some downsides, and Pam’s mom made a serious offer to counter the temptation for a teenaged Pam to join her aimless peers who liked to spend afternoons simply sitting at “the intersection” watching cars pass through town. “She didn’t want her girls sitting there,” Pam recalls. “She told us, ‘You know, I will give you all the music lessons you want if I never see you sitting by that intersection.’ Well, I never sat there.”
Her mom’s investment in developing Pam’s musical gifts paid off initially when she and her younger sister Patti became a touring duo at the behest of country legend Sherwin Linton (whom she would later marry). Along with growing her as a professional, it exposed Pam to the Nashville and West Coast country scenes and helped her solidify her place as a troubadour of traditional country music.
Pam’s latest project, Songs of the Carter Family (released January 2025 on New Folk Records) features Pam’s unique and respectful treatment of songs that transcend generations.
Currently located in suburban Minneapolis, Pam had moved there to find more opportunities in the music industry, while not leaving her home state for greener musical pastures. “Believe it or not,” she reports, “there’s a healthy country music community here in the Twin Cities.” Now a member of the National Traditional Country Music Hall of Fame, Pam continues carrying the torch for the deeply rooted music she loves.