Sam Lee, Mercury Prize nominated folk singer, promoter and animateur released his debut album “Ground Of Its Ownʼ in June 2012. The recording is a musical manifesto, reflecting the artistic journey Sam has taken so far and the less
than conventional route getting there. A naturally gifted voice, singing was new to him until his first encounter with folk song some 6 years ago. This discovery of a new world compelled him to abandon his
work as a trained visual artist, teacher of wilderness survival and moonlighting as a burlesque dancer and embark on a journey into the old songs of The British Isles. Sam is fast becoming accepted as a new
pioneer, defining the sound, sight and texture of contemporary folksong. He was given the 2011 Arts Foundation Award, which for the first time, honoured folk music amongst the art forms. Likewise his live
band, Sam Lee and Friends, carve a new acoustic with their homemade and mongrelised instrumentation using unconventional and contemporary arrangements that challenging preconceptions of what ʻtraditional folkʼ should sound like.

Sam is also an award-winning promoter and live events producer through his 2010 BBC Folk club of the year ʻThe Magpieʼs Nestʼ, now “The Nest Collective”. The Nest has played a key role in the resurgence of
the live folk music scene and is behind many innovative concerts across London, festival stages around the UK and radio and television appearances.