SAM GLEAVES
Appalachian singer - multi-instrumentalist - songwriter
Sam Gleaves is a singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist originally from Wytheville, Virginia. He began playing old-time Appalachian music as a teenager, reveling in the beauty of dance tunes, Carter Family songs, and the stories surrounding the music. Ain’t We Brothers, Sam’s debut recording, was featured by National Public Radio and the Guardian. Since 2015, Sam has released five more studio recordings. Among Sam’s mentors are legendary artists Sheila Kay Adams, John McCutcheon, Peggy Seeger, Cathy Fink, and Marcy Marxer. Writer Lee Smith has heralded Sam as “courageous as hell and country to the bone . . . the best young songwriter around.” As a solo artist, Sam has toured in Ireland, England, Italy, Canada, and throughout the U.S. He currently serves as Appalachian Instruments Instructor and Bluegrass Ensemble Director at Berea College in Berea, Kentucky.
SELECTED PERFORMANCES:
- Old Songs Festival, Altamont, NY, 2024.
- Swannanoa Gathering Traditional Song Week, Swannanoa, NC, 2024.
- National Storytelling Festival, Jonesborough, TN, 2019.
- Mountain Stage (with Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer), 2019.
- Cambridge Folk Festival (UK), 2017.
- Concert tour of England supporting Peggy Seeger, 2016.
- Woodsongs Old Time Radio Hour (guest of Tom Paxton), Lexington, Kentucky, May 2015.
- Galway International Arts Festival (with Bertha Hope and Mary McPartlan), Ireland, 2014.
- Keynote Performance (with Silas House), Appalachian Studies Association, Marshall University, 2014.
- Red Barn Radio, Lexington, Kentucky, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 (including programs broadcast on KET).