Sam Sweeney

For other people named Sam Sweeney, see Sam Sweeney (disambiguation).
Sam Sweeney
Sam Sweeney performing at the Warwick Folk Festival, July 2011
Sam Sweeney performing at the Warwick Folk Festival, July 2011
Background information
Birth nameSam Sweeney
Born (1989-02-27) 27 February 1989 (age 35)
Nottingham, England
GenresFolk
OccupationMusician
Years active2001–present
Websitewww.samsweeneymusic.com Edit this at Wikidata

Sam Sweeney (born 27 February 1989 in Nottingham) is a multi-instrumental English folk musician.

Career

Sweeney was introduced to folk music as a child via his parents' record collection and taught himself to play traditional pieces by ear.[1] He started playing the fiddle at age six, and first performed as a soloist at folk festivals in 2001.[2] From 2002 to 2010, he was part of the East Midlands-based folk band Kerfuffle, playing fiddle, viola, and cajon, and singing.[3] When Kerfuffle disbanded, Sweeney continued playing with accordion player and singer Hannah James as the duo Hannah James and Sam Sweeney.

From 2008 to 2016, he became a member of the award-winning eleven-piece folk band Bellowhead, playing fiddle and English bagpipes, as a replacement for former member Giles Lewin. Sweeney played with Bellowhead until their final gig in May 2016 at Oxford Town Hall.[4]

He has toured with Jon Boden and the Remnant Kings, playing both drums and fiddle, sometimes simultaneously.[5] He is also a member of Fay Hield's band, originally named the Fay Hield Trio but as of 2012 called Fay Hield & The Hurricane Party,[3] and took part in The Full English album and tour in 2013.

Together with Andy Cutting and Rob Harbron, he formed English folk supergroup Leveret in 2015.[6]

Sweeney helped set up the UK's National Youth Folk Ensemble,[1] an EFDSS programme that introduces young people to folk music through schools, community settings and residential courses. He was appointed inaugural Artistic Director of the Ensemble in 2015.[7]

In 2018, he started his solo career with the album The Unfinished Violin.[8][9] Two years later in 2020, he followed it with his second album Unearth Repeat.[10] Then, he released an album called Escape That in 2022. That album was used as support to Bellowhead reuniting for a November 2022 tour for the tenth anniversary of the band's album Broadside. He also played alongside his Bellowhead bandmates during the tour. The band decided to reunite after doing a virtual concert during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Awards

Sam Sweeney with curved bow

Sweeney has won a number of awards including the 'In The Tradition' award and the 'Wiltshire Folk Association Young Folk Award', which he won for two years in succession. He was also a nominated in the 2004 BBC Young Folk Awards.[11] In 2007 he won one of five BBC Performing Arts Fund bursaries to help him start his musical career.[3] Sweeney was nominated for the 'Musician of the Year' award at the 2013 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards and won this award at the 2015 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.[12] His album Unearth Repeat was voted "Album of the Year" for 2020 by Bright Young Folk readers with almost the 36% of the votes.

Discography

Year Title Band (or ensemble) Ref
2003 Not to Scale Kerfuffle [13]
2004 K2 Kerfuffle [14]
2005 Sleeping at the Station (with Charlie Barker) [15]
2006 Links Kerfuffle [16]
2008 To the Ground Kerfuffle [17]
Matachin Bellowhead [18]
2009 Umbrellowhead Bellowhead [19]
Lighten the Dark: A Midwinter Album Kerfuffle [20]
Catches and Glees Hannah James and Sam Sweeney [21]
Keepsakes (with Sam Carter) [15]
2010 Hedonism Bellowhead [22]
Looking Glass (with Fay Hield) [15]
No Man's Fool (with Rachael McShane) [15]
Born to Wander (with Louise Jordan) [15]
A New Dawn Circus Envy [15]
2011 Regret Circus Envy [15]
2012 The No Testament (with Sam Carter) [15]
State and Ancientry Hannah James and Sam Sweeney [23]
Broadside Bellowhead [24]
Orfeo (with Fay Hield) [15]
2014 Revival Bellowhead [25]
Made in the Great War Solo [26]
2015 New Anything Leveret [6]
2016 Old Adam (with Fay Hield) [15]
How the City Sings (with Sam Carter) [15]
In the Round Leveret [6]
2017 Big Machine (with Eliza Carthy and the Wayward Band) [6]
Inventions Leveret [27]
2018 The Unfinished Violin Solo [9]
2019 Diversions Leveret [28]
2020 Variations Live Leveret [29]
Unearth Repeat Solo [10]
2022 Escape That Solo

References

  1. ^ a b "Breaking Down Barriers Through The Power of Folk Music : NYO Interviews English Traditional Musician Sam Sweeney". nyo.org.uk. National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain. Archived from the original on 7 February 2021. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
  2. ^ Powlson, Nigel (13 February 2016). "Derbyshire folk musician and former Bellowhead member Sam Sweeney". Derbyshire Life and Countryside. Archived from the original on 25 October 2020. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  3. ^ a b c "Biog". Sam Sweeney. Archived from the original on 23 March 2012. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  4. ^ "Band". Bellowhead. Archived from the original on 14 February 2012. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  5. ^ "Jon Boden and The Remnant Kings: BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards 2010 Folk Singer of the Year". Towersey Village Festival. Archived from the original on 22 July 2010. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  6. ^ a b c d Zierke, Reinhard. "Sam Sweeney". Mainly Norfolk: English Folk and other good music. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  7. ^ "Sam Sweeney appointed Artistic Director of National Youth Folk Ensemble". EFDSS. 22 October 2015. Archived from the original on 30 July 2022. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
  8. ^ "Sam Sweeney". Eventseeker. Archived from the original on 16 June 2022. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  9. ^ a b Jackson, Aaron (26 September 2018). "Sam Sweeney – The Unfinished Violin". review. Folk Radio UK. Archived from the original on 3 November 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  10. ^ a b "Sam Sweeney 'Unearth Repeat' Tour comes to Stoller Hall Manchester". Visit Manchester. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  11. ^ "Sam Sweeney: Intro". Bright Young Folk. Archived from the original on 30 July 2011. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  12. ^ "Award-winning fiddle player Sam Sweeney is back on home turf". Buxton Advertiser. 31 May 2017. Archived from the original on 16 June 2022. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  13. ^ Woosnam, Dai. "Kerfuffle "Not To Scale"". livingtradition.co.uk. Retrieved 30 July 2022 – via folkmusic.net.
  14. ^ Koritsas, Debbie. "Kerfuffle "K2"". livingtradition.co.uk. Retrieved 30 July 2022 – via folkmusic.net.
  15. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Discography". Sam Sweeney. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  16. ^ "Kerfuffle - To The Ground". brightyoungfolk.com. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
  17. ^ "Kerfuffle - Links". brightyoungfolk.com. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
  18. ^ Spencer, Neil (14 September 2008). "Folk review: Bellowhead, Matachin". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
  19. ^ "Bellowhead - Umbrellowhead". brightyoungfolk.com. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
  20. ^ Dow, George. "Kerfuffle - Lighten the Dark". livingtradition.co.uk. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
  21. ^ "Hannah James & Sam Sweeney - Catches & Glees". brightyoungfolk.com. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
  22. ^ White, Chris (October 2010). "Bellowhead Hedonism Review". BBC Music. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
  23. ^ "Hannah James & Sam Sweeney - State & Ancientry". brightyoungfolk.com. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
  24. ^ "Bellowhead's most defining release to date: Broadside". folkradio.co.uk. 16 October 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
  25. ^ "Sam Sweeney - Made in the Great War". brightyoungfolk.com. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
  26. ^ Holland, Simon (20 June 2014). "Sam Sweeney: The Unfinished Violin". folkradio.co.uk. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
  27. ^ Blake, Thomas (5 September 2017). "Leveret: Inventions". folkradio.co.uk. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
  28. ^ Nickson, Chris (2019). "Leveret, Diversions". RootsWorld.com. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
  29. ^ Rough, Billy (1 December 2020). "Leveret: Variations Live". folkradio.co.uk. Retrieved 30 July 2022.