3 December: Sam Sweeney Band

Sam is a veteran of the mighty Bellowhead, former 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.

Sam and his new band are putting something into English music that has never been there before. Their new project has the swagger and groove of traditional English music with the huge sound, flare, energy and festival spirit of bands coming out of the Celtic and Scandinavian music scenes.

Sam’s latest album occupies a very different sound world to The Unfinished Violin, his acclaimed project around the First World War. Leaving string sections, piano and harmonium behind, the new band features acoustic and electric guitars and double bass.

The Sam Sweeney Band are:

Jack Rutter – guitar (Seth Lakeman, Jackie Oates, Moore Moss Rutter)

Ben Nicholls – double bass (Seth Lakeman, Nadine Shah, Kings Of The South Seas, Wild Rose, The Full English)

Louis Campbell – electric guitar (member of National Youth Folk Ensemble 2016-18)

“The fiddler with the Midas touch… an English equivalent of the great Irish fiddle player Martin Hayes.” **** The Guardian