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Sam Amidon
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Sam Amidon
Samuel Tear Amidon (born June 3, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist.
Amidon's parents are folk artists Peter Amidon and Mary Alice Amidon. They were members of Bread and Puppet Theater in the 1970s, touring with the group in Europe and living on the Bread and Puppet Farm in Glover, Vermont. They appeared on the 1977 Nonesuch recording Rivers of Delight with the Word of Mouth Chorus, a classic recording of shape-note/Sacred Harp folk hymns by early American composers. His younger brother, Stefan Amidon, is a professional drummer who performs with The Sweetback Sisters among other groups.
Amidon grew up in Brattleboro, Vermont, where he sang in the family band with his parents and played fiddle from the age of 3. By 13 he was playing professionally with pianist Thomas Bartlett, a childhood friend, and with his brother Stefan, in the contradance band Popcorn Behavior. Inspired by groups such as Wild Asparagus and Nightingale, as well as the traditional Irish fiddlers Martin Hayes and Tommy Peoples, Popcorn Behavior released their first album in 1994 when Amidon and Bartlett were 14 and 13, respectively, and Stefan was 10. Keith Murphy joined the group for their third album and the band toured throughout the country, released five albums, and were interviewed on NPR's "All Things Considered", all while the band members were still in high school. Amidon attended The Putney School in Putney, Vermont for one year.
As a teenager, Amidon discovered music by artists such as Tony Conrad, Albert Ayler, Yo La Tengo, Miles Davis and Don Cherry, as well as reissues of field recordings of the Old Weird America such as the Harry Smith Anthology, the Alan Lomax Southern Journey series, and the songs of Dock Boggs. In the early 2000s, he lived in New York City and played in the experimental indie rock bands Doveman and Stars Like Fleas.
In 2001, Amidon self-released Solo Fiddle, an album of traditional Irish fiddle instrumentals.
Amidon's first album of songs, But This Chicken Proved False Hearted (2007), was made with longtime collaborator Thomas Bartlett and was initially released on the Los Angeles-based electronic label Plug Research. It was reissued on CD and LP in 2015 by Omnivore Recordings.
His second album, All Is Well (2008), was produced, recorded and mixed by Valgeir Sigurðsson at Greenhouse Studios in Iceland and featured orchestral arrangements by Nico Muhly. His third album, I See the Sign (2010), was also produced by Sigurðsson and featured multi-instrumentalist Shahzad Ismaily and orchestral arrangements by Muhly, with guest vocals by Beth Orton. Both albums were released on the Icelandic label/collective Bedroom Community and met with critical acclaim from sources such as Pitchfork, Stylus Magazine and the New York Times, which chose I See the Sign as a top-ten album of 2010.
Amidon's fourth album, Bright Sunny South, produced by Bartlett and Jerry Boys, was released 14 May 2013, his first on Nonesuch Records. His next album, Lily-O, recorded with a band consisting of Ismaily, Bill Frisell, and Chris Vatalaro, was released on the same label on 30 September 2014. "A hauntingly beautiful new album" according to the New York Times, PopMatters called it "a thing of beauty and wonder, bold and strong".
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Sam Amidon
Samuel Tear Amidon (born June 3, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist.
Amidon's parents are folk artists Peter Amidon and Mary Alice Amidon. They were members of Bread and Puppet Theater in the 1970s, touring with the group in Europe and living on the Bread and Puppet Farm in Glover, Vermont. They appeared on the 1977 Nonesuch recording Rivers of Delight with the Word of Mouth Chorus, a classic recording of shape-note/Sacred Harp folk hymns by early American composers. His younger brother, Stefan Amidon, is a professional drummer who performs with The Sweetback Sisters among other groups.
Amidon grew up in Brattleboro, Vermont, where he sang in the family band with his parents and played fiddle from the age of 3. By 13 he was playing professionally with pianist Thomas Bartlett, a childhood friend, and with his brother Stefan, in the contradance band Popcorn Behavior. Inspired by groups such as Wild Asparagus and Nightingale, as well as the traditional Irish fiddlers Martin Hayes and Tommy Peoples, Popcorn Behavior released their first album in 1994 when Amidon and Bartlett were 14 and 13, respectively, and Stefan was 10. Keith Murphy joined the group for their third album and the band toured throughout the country, released five albums, and were interviewed on NPR's "All Things Considered", all while the band members were still in high school. Amidon attended The Putney School in Putney, Vermont for one year.
As a teenager, Amidon discovered music by artists such as Tony Conrad, Albert Ayler, Yo La Tengo, Miles Davis and Don Cherry, as well as reissues of field recordings of the Old Weird America such as the Harry Smith Anthology, the Alan Lomax Southern Journey series, and the songs of Dock Boggs. In the early 2000s, he lived in New York City and played in the experimental indie rock bands Doveman and Stars Like Fleas.
In 2001, Amidon self-released Solo Fiddle, an album of traditional Irish fiddle instrumentals.
Amidon's first album of songs, But This Chicken Proved False Hearted (2007), was made with longtime collaborator Thomas Bartlett and was initially released on the Los Angeles-based electronic label Plug Research. It was reissued on CD and LP in 2015 by Omnivore Recordings.
His second album, All Is Well (2008), was produced, recorded and mixed by Valgeir Sigurðsson at Greenhouse Studios in Iceland and featured orchestral arrangements by Nico Muhly. His third album, I See the Sign (2010), was also produced by Sigurðsson and featured multi-instrumentalist Shahzad Ismaily and orchestral arrangements by Muhly, with guest vocals by Beth Orton. Both albums were released on the Icelandic label/collective Bedroom Community and met with critical acclaim from sources such as Pitchfork, Stylus Magazine and the New York Times, which chose I See the Sign as a top-ten album of 2010.
Amidon's fourth album, Bright Sunny South, produced by Bartlett and Jerry Boys, was released 14 May 2013, his first on Nonesuch Records. His next album, Lily-O, recorded with a band consisting of Ismaily, Bill Frisell, and Chris Vatalaro, was released on the same label on 30 September 2014. "A hauntingly beautiful new album" according to the New York Times, PopMatters called it "a thing of beauty and wonder, bold and strong".
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