Having already recorded and produced over 10 acclaimed records, multiple live sessions and airplay on BBC Radio 2 and 3, and having his music featured on Sky Arts and Sky Sports, it’s hard to believe that 25-year-old Bristol based folk singer, producer and multi-instrumentalist Sam Kelly has only been performing on the folk scene for 5 years.
As a young child Sam spent many a night enraptured, listening to his Irish grandfather tell folk tales, sing folk songs, and play folk tunes on his melodeon. This child-like awe and passion for traditional music, coupled with a love for the heavy riffs of classic rock and blues and a singing voice described by Mike Harding as “one of my favourite voices ever” has led Sam on to producing some of the most exciting music on the British folk scene in recent years.
With folk luminaries such as Kate Rusby, Seth Lakeman, and Cara Dillon waxing lyrical about Sam’s live set with his dynamic trio (comprising Jamie Francis on banjo and Evan Carson on drums) it’s no surprise that there was a stir of excitement in the folk scene for Sam’s debut album.
For said album, entitled The Lost Boys, Sam enlisted the talents of Ciaran Algar on fiddle and Graham Coe on cello to help his songs reach their full potential, which seemed to work - as Sam was awarded the prestigious Horizon Award for emerging artists at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards 2016 at The Royal Albert Hall. The boys then came together with the added talents of Toby Shaer on flutes and whistles and Archie Churchill-Moss on melodeon to record their first album as a full band, which was released in November 2017 to a storm of rave reviews and radio play. Mark Radcliffe included the boys’ live session for the BBC Radio 2 Folk Show in his highlights reel of live sessions in 2017, describing the band as ‘one of the most exciting bands on the scene’ performing ‘amazing, thrilling music’.
With an at times hilarious mix of youthful exuberance and instrumental virtuosity, The Lost Boys breathe new life into traditional music, letting it rub shoulders with contemporary originals and even the occasional surprise rock cover, and have quickly become one of the most popular festival bands on the UK folk festival scene. Expect to hear haunting harmonies, soaring tunes and melodies, ridiculous anecdotes and instrumental performances of the highest calibre, all lead by Sam’s expert vocals. Don’t miss out!
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