Sam Kelly

THE FOLK SINGER-SONGWRITER TELLS TG WHAT IT’S LIKE BEING A YOUNG BUCK PLAYING THE OLDEST SCENE IN TOWN

- Stephen Kelly

For an artist whose repertoire includes songs rooted in Britain’s pre-industrial past, 26-year old Sam Kelly is a decidedly modern musician. Whether performing with his rowdy ensemble The Lost Boys or reviving Cornish folk songs with south-west collective The Changing Room, the Bristol-based guitarist brings all the sensibilities of a contemporary singer-songwriter to bear on these traditional sounds, accompanied by his robust acoustic playing and a voice that could shame a nightingale.

While the rousing live performances of his group The Lost Boys were instrumental in confirming Sam’s reputation as a rising star (see their rock-infused take on trad sea shanty Greenland Whale), new album Changeable Heart, a collaboration with Nottingham multi-instrumentalist Ruth Notman, takes a softer approach. “I knew it would be a totally different thing, there were going to be a lot more ballad-y type songs,” Sam tells TG. “I play piano as well, but the guitar is my first instrument. A lot of the tracks, I came up with the initial arrangement and melody on guitar, but with the piano in mind. That was one of the nice things about working with Ruth; she’s a pianist first and foremost, so she was obviously thinking about harmony in a slightly different way.”