Nominated four times, and winner in 2015, of Musician Of The Year BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, Sam Sweeney is a veteran of the mighty Bellowhead, former and inaugural artistic director of the National Folk Youth Ensemble, founder member of the acclaimed instrumental trio Leveret, and a superb instrumentalist at the forefront of the revival in English traditional music. After embarking on a solo career, releasing his debut solo album The Unfinished Violin on Island Records and touring it to sell-out crowds in 2019, Sam is releasing his highly anticipated second solo album, Unearth Repeat, on Hudson Records in March 2020.
Unearth Repeat celebrates a new direction, not only for Sam but for English music. His new band are injecting into the English tradition something that has never been heard before. The music has the groove and swagger of traditional English music with the huge sound, flare, energy and festival spirit of bands coming out of the Celtic and Scandinavian music scenes. Moving on from his five year connection to the First World War, which inspired his first album and captured the nations hearts through appearances on Antiques Roadshow and BBC Breakfast, alongside BBC Radio 2, 3, 4 and 6 Music, Sam is making music on his own terms, with a stellar line up of his favourite musicians and a massive sound.
Leaving string sections, brass, concertina and harmonium behind, the new band brings together Sams unique fiddle playing, the acoustic and electric guitars of Jack Rutter (Seth Lakeman, Moore Moss Rutter) and Louis Campbell (National Youth Folk Ensemble), the double bass of Ben Nicholls (Seth Lakeman, Nadine Shah) and the keyboards of Dave Mackay (Art Garfunkel). Sam has also recorded and performed with The Full English, Eliza Carthy, Jon Boden & The Remnant Kings, Fay Hield & The Hurricane Party, Emily Portman, Martin Carthy, as well as his own critically acclaimed show Made In The Great War.
“The fiddler with the Midas touch… an English equivalent of the great Irish fiddle player Martin Hayes” **** The Guardian
For more details and to pre-order visit https://www.samsweeneymusic.com/
