Sumbuck
Written By: Alexander Sterling | Photos By: Ben Leeson
Taylor Meier is known as the front man of the popular folk band, Caamp. They’ve been tearing up stages across the US and abroad, bringing their easy-listening sound to cities and small towns alike. Coming out of a robust Athens, Ohio music scene in 2015, Caamp’s laid back music seeks to capture the beauty of simple moments, love, and the bittersweet passage of time, making for a mass appeal that has eluded many Ohio bands.
The last few years, with Caamp’s canceled tours looming, Meier took refuge and rest in his hometown. His home, bursting with natural light from large windows that look out on a quiet wooded neighborhood, is Meier’s sanctuary away from the hustle of fame and life on the road.
The sold out stadium shows still feel surreal to Meier who remembers Caamp’s first headline tour, often playing for half empty bars and venues in small Midwest towns. Now, he’s grateful for the privilege to continue doing what he loves under his solo moniker, Sumbuck.
“I’m privileged to do what I do, at the level I get to do it at, with the people I get to do it with, and the places we get to go,” he says.
“I kept on saying I was lucky, and I am.”
The focus on gratitude shines in Sumbuck’s most recent full-length release, “Lucky”. It’s a collaboration that diverges from the limitations of Caamp’s brand. For Meier, Sumbuck’s music can be whatever he wants.
“Let’s just go do weird stuff,” he says, reminiscing about the early sessions that led to Sumbuck. “Let’s use a space echo and put harmonies that are dissonant on stuff. And just learn, you know? And fuck up, honestly. Just, like, find it.” It’s this spirit of musical exploration that drives Meier to keep creating Sumbuck tracks.
He also considers Sumbuck to be a project apart from his Caamp fame – one that fans need to discover on their own. “Sumbuck is a very intentionally mysterious thing,” Meier explains. “Part of me is a little shy still about releasing music under my own name. I just wanted it to be a little hidden. You would have to be a little more invested to find the stuff.”
Two records in, the project is picking up steam. “It's blossomed into something far greater than I thought,” he says.
For Meier, it’s equally gratifying playing for a sold-out Red Rocks crowd or playing for 100 people at a small venue. “It’s still the same rush. You’re still trying to win the hearts, win the crowd, win yourself, you know?” Meier says, “To convince yourself to believe in it all. It’s like what art is. It’s a chase to believe yourself.”
After years in the studio and on the road, Meier shares some wisdom for musicians coming up in the music scene. “I think if there’s one thing I can hang my hat on, it’s not only playing with people you love – you know, your friends in your band - but bringing out people you love. ‘Cause that was given to us when we were young. Bands took us out when we didn’t mesh genre-wise and certainly weren’t worth the tickets. They just gave us a shot because they liked the tunes and they like to hang. And I think that’s important.”
“Play with the people you love. Tour with the people you love. It all works out.”
Meier and his collaborators are back in action this year with a fresh Caamp EP released in late February. With notebooks full of tunes for both projects, his commitment to his craft is unwavering. For Taylor Meier, it’s the pursuit that counts.
Published February 27, 2025