Black Duck Folk

Sam Carter, Saturday 30th September 2017

By Black Duck 5th June 2017 Past events

Sutton Benger Village Hall  Saturday 30th September 2017.  Doors 7:15pm  Show starts 7:45pm.  Tickets £12 in advance, £14 on the door.

Since being named Best Newcomer at the 2010 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards Sam Carter has been stirring audiences from Camden to Canada and has worked with the best amongst the folk/roots genre.  Described as ‘the finest English-style finger-picking guitarist of his generation’ by Bellowhead’s Jon Boden, this is your opportunity to join him for an intimate solo show.

 

In 2014 Sam teamed with Jim Moray to form False Lights, a band with the stated aim of updating the template of folk rock and making a joyful racket. Their 2016 BBC Radio 2 Folk Award nominated album Salvor, released the following year, was praised from all corners – proving that people really were ready for traditional English songs played in a style that owed as much to Radiohead as it did to Fairport Convention.

 

Sam’s most recent solo album ‘How The City Sings’ (2016) captures this fervently admired singer, songwriter and guitarist at his most passionate and moving.   It features twelve songs that are at times affectingly intimate and at others brimming with righteous rage. As the album formed, Sam began to notice these songs were shot through with images and aspects of London. After ten years living in the capital it had become not only the backdrop but a central player in the parts of his life these lyrics detailed.

 

Unconsciously ‘How The City Sings’ became a way of processing where he was, in every sense. “What’s important to me about the record is that my experiences and what I sing about have become inseparable. I’m writing about my own life but also trying to give voice to the lives of others.” How the City Sings is the most personal album of Sam Carter’s career, and when songs are this heartfelt and true they connect with us all.

 

Sam is an independent artist and has five releases to date, all self-released under Captain Records – Here In The Ground EP (2008), Keepsakes (2009), The No Testament (2012), Live At The Union Chapel EP (2012) and How The City Sings (2016) available on CD from HMV, Amazon and other online retailers with the exception of Live At The Union Chapel EP which is exclusively available on CD on Sam’s website and at shows.

 

QUOTES

 

‘…like one of his heroes Richard Thompson, Carter has the ability to enthral with just one climactic chord when he moves effortlessly into rock guitar mode and the jagged contrast with his softer side makes it all the more effective… he has such an abundance of natural talent, and you will him on all the way’ fRoots

 

‘Sam Carter is a brilliant guitarist and songwriter who combines the observational with social comment and personal reflection’ **** Songlines  

 

‘[Carter] continues to combine present-day lyrical themes and his versatile folk-based approach with skill and ease’
 Guitarist

 

‘One of the most gifted acoustic guitarists of his generation’

Mike Harding, Radio 2

 

‘A sophisticated blender of ancient and modern’

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