Sam Sweeney Band

Bellowhead Fiddle Player & BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards – Musician Of The Year 2015

Following the colossal success of supporting Bellowhead on their comeback tour in 2022, Sam is taking to the road to play his genre-defying landmark album, Escape That, with his all-star band. Featuring Louis Campbell on electric guitar, Ben Nicholls on double bass and Stuart McCallum on acoustic guitar, this will be a gig you don’t want to miss.

Sam is one of England’s finest and most in demand traditional musicians, however Escape That is his first entirely self-composed record. It ties together all of Sam’s musical passions in an honest and fearless expression of himself.

Sam and his band are putting something into English music that has never been there before and pressing the reset button on how folk music should sound. Combining Sam’s love for traditional music with strong pop hooks and aesthetics, this music is unashamed in its wide pool of influences.

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 genre defining instrumentalist at the forefront of the revival in English traditional music.

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

“Sweeney’s playing is unearthly at times… an outstanding and deeply moving experience.” ***** – Songlines

“One of the defining fiddle players of his generation” Mark Radcliffe, BBC Radio 2

Support comes from Folkestra – one of the North East’s leading youth folk ensembles based at The Glasshouse International Centre for Music. Directed by Andy May, the group loves exploring new music and traditional tunes from Northumberland to get hearts warming and toes tapping. Folkestra supported the National Youth Folk Ensemble and Grace Smith Trio right here at The Fire Station last year and they are excited to return to support the inspirational Sam Sweeney.