Sam Lee plays a unique role in the British music scene. A Mercury Prize nominated singer, highly inventive and original arranger, folksong interpreter, passionate conservationist, song collector, and creator of live events, his work has consistently challenged our ideas of what traditional music can be. Sam’s approach shatters the boundaries between the old and the new, breathing fresh life into timeless songs and inviting us to rediscover their power.
His journey began with the groundbreaking debut album Ground Of Its Own in 2012, when he dramatically reworked old songs with a striking blend of traditional and contemporary sounds. The album, made possible by a prestigious Arts Foundation award, was short-listed for the Mercury Music Prize and marked Sam's immediate impact on the music scene.
Following this early success, Sam continued to innovate with releases like The Fade In Time and Old Wow, each further proving his knack for melding heritage with modernity, earning him accolades such as a Songlines Award for Artist of the Year and recognition at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.
In March 2024, he elevated his art once again with songdreaming. Named one of Mojo’s Top 10 Folk Albums of 2024 and Best European Album at the 2024 Songlines Music Awards, its enduring appeal is underscored by its steady presence on the Official Folk Albums Chart since its release. Songlines magazine—probably the leading journal of the global world and folk community—remarked:
“We’ve seen Sam Lee progress from wunderkind singer and song collector to a respected spokesperson of the planet, its custodians (of all species) and its sounds, while his music becomes ever more beguiling and important.
A folk voice for the England of the 21st century.”
Beyond his musical accomplishments, Sam is a storyteller in every sense. In 2021, he published his debut novel, The Nightingale, Notes on a Songbird, an epic tale that explores the enduring legacy of this endangered bird in culture, folklore, music, and literature. As a regular radio and TV broadcaster and an accomplished film soundtrack composer, he has also provided songs for several major feature films such as King Arthur (2017), directed by Guy Ritchie, and The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, starring the utterly compelling Jim Broadbent, as well as Speak No Evil (2024), featuring multi-award-winning actor James McAvoy and others. And of course there is The Nest Collective which Sam founded more than a decade ago and which continues to provide a platform for many artists and storytellers alike.
A true change-maker, Sam has never shied away from using his art for a greater cause. He is a co-founder of Music Declares Emergency, a former board member at both the UK’s Featured Artists Coalition and the USA’s Folk Alliance Internatinoal, and the pioneering artist who partnered with environmental charity Earthpercent, donating a portion of his album proceeds to support their work.
Sam Lee’s creative journey is deeply rooted in his early experiences in North London’s Kentish Town, where summer holidays at Forest School Camps sparked his lifelong love for music and nature. Inspired by mentors like Scottish Traveller singer Stanley Robertson and enriched by his time collecting songs from Gypsy Traveller communities, his work remains a heartfelt tribute to our cultural and natural heritage. With every album and every live event, Sam Lee reminds us that tradition and innovation can exist side by side, forging a path that is as emotionally compelling as it is musically groundbreaking.
Plus special guests
SPAFFORD CAMPBELL
Open your palm — there it is: the morrow, held and released. Tomorrow Held is the visionary new album from Spafford Campbell, blending post-rock, jazz, chamber classical, and folk into eight immersive, mostly instrumental tracks. Fiddle player Owen Spafford and guitarist Louis Campbell, both conservatoire-trained, create textured, genre-defying music that demands presence. Following their acclaimed debut You, Golden and 2024's 102 Metres East EP, this project blazes a trail through ambient loops, processed fiddle, and experimental soundscapes. Echoing Talk Talk’s Spirit of Eden and Bon Iver’s ethereality, Tomorrow Held is a spacious, transcendent listen — reflective, mysterious, and fiercely original.
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