Sam Amidon

Sam Amidon is a folk singer and multi-instrumentalist from Brattleboro, Vermont. Born Samuel Tear Amidon in 1981, he grows up in a musical family: his parents, Peter Amidon and Mary Alice Amidon, are both folk musicians, performers and teachers, and his younger brother Stefan Amidon is a drummer. He begins learning fiddle at the age of three and records and performs from 1988.

Early work and group projects

Amidon is associated with several ensemble projects, including The Amidons, a family group formed by his parents and focused on traditional dance and music forms. He also forms Assembly as a teenager, playing with his brother Stefan, and works with Popcorn Behavior, Stars Like Fleas, Doveman, Childsplay, Wild Asparagus, Siucra, Markus James, Seamus Egan, Billy Budd, Tall Firs, Elysian Fields and Eye Contact. He is also listed with Nico Muhly, reflecting a long-running collaborative relationship.

Mentors and collaborators

His musical development is shaped by guidance from fiddlers Mary Lea and Sue Sternberg, free jazz musician and former Anthony Braxton sideman Leroy Jenkins, and violinist Mark Feldman. A major collaborator is Shahzad Ismaily, whose multi-instrumental work and production are central to Amidon’s later recordings. He also works with Thomas Bartlett, Valgeir Sigurðsson, Ben Frost, Eyvind Kang and Aaron Siegel.

Solo recordings

His first album, Solo Fiddle, appears in 2001 and largely presents his versions of traditional Irish fiddle pieces recorded with Assembly. In 2007, But This Chicken Proved False Hearted appears as a collaboration with Thomas Bartlett on Plug Research, drawing on traditional American folk songs. In 2008, he releases All Is Well on Bedroom Community, produced by Valgeir Sigurðsson with orchestral arrangements by Nico Muhly and contributions from Stefan Amidon, Ben Frost, Eyvind Kang and Aaron Siegel.

Later releases and performance

In 2009, Amidon debuts Nico Muhly’s reworked folk composition “The Only Tune” at Carnegie Hall; the piece also appears on Muhly’s Mothertongue. He also releases Fiddle and Drum, which features free improvisation with Aaron Siegel. I See the Sign follows in 2010, using old-time melodies and lyrics as a basis for atmosphere and including three children’s singing games popularised by Bessie Jones and recomposed by Amidon. Bright Sunny South is produced by Bartlett and Jerry Boys.

Bedroom Community

Amidon is a member of the Icelandic music collective and record label Bedroom Community, through which his albums are issued. His work is rooted in folk traditions from New England and traditional American and Irish repertoire, while also drawing on improvisation, orchestral arrangement and contemporary collaboration.