Sam Lee
Voice of the Land
Songs and Stories by Sam Lee
Sam Lee brought the indigenous folk traditions of this land up to date.
He opened the concert by inviting us to connect to the land through presence, songs and words.
ABOUT THE MUSIC
Sam Lee opened the concert by helping us to find our ground, in this place, in this area known as the Five Valleys. Through his words and songs we found a personal connection to the origins of music known and created by the nature and folk of the British Isles, including Ireland.
Sam brought songs so ancient and primordial, it’s as if they came from the land itself. There were stories from the elders of these islands, from Romanian gypsy communities as well as from nightingales. The oral tradition, pure and unordained, offered songs both sacred and secular with wisdom in service of the Earth.
“A dazzling fusion of nature and song… Lee’s rich baritone voice carries the imprint of folk past.”
The Observer
“A stark longing quality that carefully handles and never sugarcoats its subjects.”
The Guardian
“…folk music to work in service of the struggle to slow climate change.”
Financial Times
ABOUT THE MUSICIAN
Sam Lee’s unique perspective plays a remarkable role in the British music scene. He’s an acclaimed, award-winning inventive singer, a folksong collector, conservationist and promoter of live events. He is founder/director of The Nest Collective who’ve helped shake up the music scene and injected life back into the folk trad and world acoustic scene. Sam is a founding member of Music Declares Emergency, and is involved with Extinction Rebellion.
Sam was named Artist of the Year at the 2016 Songlines Magazine Awards, and is known for his annual ‘Singing with Nightingales’ events.
Local connections with a new film. Most recently he composed the full soundtrack, including many songs, for the new film by British director Hettie MacDonald. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry was just released in April. It stars Jim Broadbent and Penelope Wilton and is based on a novel of the same name written by Stroud Resident Rachel Joyce.
Sam Lee opened the concert by helping us to find our ground, in this place, in this area known as the Five Valleys. Through his words and songs we found a personal connection to the origins of music known and created by the nature and folk of the British Isles, including Ireland.
Sam brought songs so ancient and primordial, it’s as if they came from the land itself. There were stories from the elders of these islands, from Romanian gypsy communities as well as from nightingales. The oral tradition, pure and unordained, offered songs both sacred and secular with wisdom in service of the Earth.
“A dazzling fusion of nature and song… Lee’s rich baritone voice carries the imprint of folk past.”
The Observer
“A stark longing quality that carefully handles and never sugarcoats its subjects.”
The Guardian
“…folk music to work in service of the struggle to slow climate change.”
Financial Times
ABOUT THE MUSICIAN
Sam Lee’s unique perspective plays a remarkable role in the British music scene. He’s an acclaimed, award-winning inventive singer, a folksong collector, conservationist and promoter of live events. He is founder/director of The Nest Collective who’ve helped shake up the music scene and injected life back into the folk trad and world acoustic scene. Sam is a founding member of Music Declares Emergency, and is involved with Extinction Rebellion.
Sam was named Artist of the Year at the 2016 Songlines Magazine Awards, and is known for his annual ‘Singing with Nightingales’ events.
Local connections with a new film. Most recently he composed the full soundtrack, including many songs, for the new film by British director Hettie MacDonald. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry was just released in April. It stars Jim Broadbent and Penelope Wilton and is based on a novel of the same name written by Stroud Resident Rachel Joyce.
GALLERY
Photographs courtesy of Simon Pizzey