bio
Sam Amidon is a singer and multi-instrumentalist (banjo, guitar, fiddle) from Vermont, US, now based in London, England. His most recent solo album “Salt River” was released by River Lea / Rough Trade in January 2025. In February 2026 he was featured on the album "Willows" alongside violinist Pekka Kuusisto and the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, and in December 2025 Amidon and Ganavya released a pair of co-written and performed songs, "Would Be Better" and "Willow Street". He has previously released seven acclaimed albums of songs on Bedroom Community and Nonesuch Records.
Amidon's material for these albums often consists of adventurous reworkings of traditional American ballads, hymns and work songs, with the New York Times writing that Amidon "transforms all of the songs, changing their colors and loading them with trapdoors." The albums have been deeply collaborative in nature, inviting contributions from musicians such as Nico Muhly, Shahzad Ismaily, Bill Frisell, and on “Salt River,” saxophonist/producer Sam Gendel.
The release of “Salt River” comes on the heels of Sam’s work with choreographer Michael Keegan Dolan on the dance theatre music show Nobodaddy, for which Sam was nominated as “Outstanding Creative Contribution” by the National Dance Awards Critics Circle in the UK. He also worked on the recently released film “History of Sound,” starring Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor, wherein Amidon served as a music advisor as well as performer on the soundtrack. The film had its premiere at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival.
Previously, Sam Amidon has recorded or performed as a guest artist with musicians such as Bon Iver, The National, Dijon, The Blind Boys of Alabama, The Gloaming, Lonnie Holley, Manami Kakudo, Jacob Collier, Marc Ribot, and Beth Orton, among many others. He has appeared internationally as a soloist with ensembles such as the Kronos Quartet, The Aurora Orchestra, the Australian Chamber Orchestra with Pekka Kuusisto, The Scottish Chamber Orchestra, The Oregon Symphony, Roomful of Teeth, and the Britten Sinfonia.
gallery
press
“Channeling Appalachian fiddles, desert rock, Ornette Coleman, and Arthur Russell, the Vermont native keeps it moving forward, in his own inimitable style.” - Pitchfork
“The magic in [Salt River] is subtle and, like many great records over the years, has a habit of revealing more and more hidden layers of sonic wonder and beauty with each listen” - KLOF Magazine