‘Sam Carter is a brilliant guitarist and songwriter who combines the observational with social comment and personal reflection
Songlines
Midlands-born Sam Carter is a BBC Folk Award-winning singer-songwriter and guitarist renowned for his narrative-rich songwriting, which Uncut described as being “as penetrating as Richard Thompson’s best work”. For over 15 years, he has been stirring audiences from Camden to Canada, from major festivals to intimate clubs. Sam's expressive fingerpicking led Jon Boden of Bellowhead to call him "the finest English-style fingerpicking guitarist of his generation," while Ivor Novello-winner Nitin Sawhney has praised his "killer voice".
With a discography that spans six solo albums and two releases with the folk-rock band False Lights, Sam’s music reflects a blend of traditional English folk, shape-note singing and rock. Notable highlights in his career include a spellbinding performance on Later… with Jools Holland, where he played songs from his shape-note-inspired album The No Testament alongside renowned fiddler Sam Sweeney.
Sam's latest release, the acclaimed Top 40 Folk Chart album Silver Horizon, has cemented his reputation as a skilful blender of ancient and modern. Produced by Andy Bell at the remote Red Kite Studios in Wales, the album's 11 indie-folk songs create a dreamlike soundscape, with guitarist Stuart McCallum (The Breath) adding lush, reverb-soaked textures. Sam says of this work, “I’m still dealing with themes of love, loss, and change... but sketching events in an impressionistic way gives the songs more room to breathe.”
Sam's live performances are nothing short of captivating, filled with the raw honesty, humour, and skilled musicianship that underscore his standing as one of contemporary folk’s brightest talents.
‘A singer who can hold the audience spellbound all by himself.’ R2
‘Really wonderful.’ Jools Holland
