Midlands-born Sam Carter is a BBC Folk Award-winning singer-songwriter and guitarist renowned for his lyrical storytelling, which Uncut described as being “as penetrating as Richard Thompson’s best work”. For over 15 years, he has been stirring audiences from Camden to Canada, from major festivals to intimate clubs. Carter’s expressive fingerpicking led Jon Boden of Bellowhead to call him "the finest English-style fingerpicking guitarist of his generation," while Ivor Novello-winner Nitin Sawhney has praised his "killer voice."
With a discography that spans six solo albums and two releases with the folk-rock band False Lights, Carter’s music reflects a blend of traditional English folk, shape-note singing, and rock. Notable highlights in his career include a spellbinding performance on Later… with Jools Holland, where he played songs from his shape-note-inspired album The No Testament alongside renowned fiddler Sam Sweeney.
Carter’s latest album release, the acclaimed Top 40 Folk Chart album Silver Horizon, has cemented his reputation as a skilful blender of ancient and modern. Produced by Andy Bell at the remote Red Kite Studios in Wales, the album's 11 indie-folk songs create a dreamlike soundscape, with guitarist Stuart McCallum (The Breath) adding lush, reverb-soaked textures. Carter says of this work, “I’m still dealing with themes of love, loss, and change... but sketching events in an impressionistic way gives the songs more room to breathe.”
Arriving hot on the heels of Silver Horizon, Carter’s latest single, Long Time Travelling (released April 2025), is a rousing arrangement of a 19th-century spiritual from The Sacred Harp, showcasing his intricate fingerstyle guitar work.
Sam Carter’s live performances are nothing short of captivating, filled with the raw honesty, humour, and skilled musicianship that underscore his standing as one of contemporary folk’s brightest talents.
“Sam Carter is a brilliant guitarist and songwriter who combines the observational with social comment and personal reflection”— Songlines
“Fans of acoustic music rejoice, the UK ‘s proud tradition of folk singer-songwriters is in safe hands.” — Guitarist Magazine
“Really wonderful” — Jools Holland
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