Folk Bands and Artists
Sam Gleaves
Virginia
Born and raised in southwest Virginia, Sam Gleaves performs innovative mountain music with a sense of history. Sam carries on the ballads, dance music and storytelling he learned from numerous mentors in the Appalachian tradition including multi-instrumentalist Jim Lloyd and ballad singer Sheila Kay Adams. In 2015, Sam collaborated with producer Cathy Fink and released a debut record of original songs, titled Ain’t We Brothers, which has been featured by The Guardian, National Public Radio, No Depression, and The Bluegrass Situation.
Sam tours extensively in the U.S. and in 2016 he toured the UK supporting Peggy Seeger. In 2017, Sam appeared at the Cambridge Folk Festival and brought forth a new record with his singing partner Tyler Hughes, a fellow southwest Virginian steeped in the region’s musical traditions. This record, titled Sam Gleaves & Tyler Hughes, has received glowing reviews from Fatea, Rock n Reel, fROOTS, and others. Appalachian novelist Lee Smith has heralded Sam as “the best young songwriter around . . . courageous as hell and country to the bone.”
Genre: Americana
