The Sam Kelly Trio

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Having already recorded and produced over 10 acclaimed records, had multiple live sessions and airplay on BBC Radio 2 and 3, and his music regularly featured on Sky Arts and Sky Sports, it’s hard to believe that young Bristol-based folk singer, producer and multi-instrumentalist Sam Kelly has only been performing live for a few years.

As a child, Sam spent many a night enraptured, listening to his Irish grandfather tell folk tales, sing songs, and play tunes on his melodeon. This awe and passion for Celtic music, coupled with a love for the heavy riffs of classic rock and blues, and a voice described by Mike Harding as ‘one of my favourite voices ever’ has led Sam to produce some of the most exciting music on the British folk scene in recent years.

With folk luminaries such as Kate Rusby, Seth Lakeman, and Cara Dillon waxing lyrical about Sam’s live set, it seemed fitting when he was awarded the prestigious Horizon Award for emerging artists at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards 2016 at London’s Royal Albert Hall.

Sam Kelly is working on a hotly anticipated new album, due for release in 2025. The album will feature Sam’s signature eclectic arrangements of traditional folk songs, seamlessly interspersed with stunning original music from the pen of Sam and his Lost Boys band collaborator and banjo virtuoso - Jamie Francis. The album will take the listener on an eclectic journey all the way from fantastical moonlit adventures of privateering and poaching, to introspective reflection and solemnity, as centuries old folk songs sit alongside modern themes of mental health and exploration of the inner self. Sam and Jamie have gained a reputation as one of the most innovative and important partnerships to come out of the UK folk scene in recent years, and this album promises to be a groundbreaking addition to their impressive portfolio.