Sam Amidon

Sam Amidon (born Samuel Tear Amidon on 3 June 1981 in Brattleboro, Vermont) is an American folk artist. His parents are Peter Amidon and Mary Alice Amidon, both well-established folk musicians. Amidon is a member of the Icelandic music collective/record label Bedroom Community. Folk music runs freely throughout the New England heartland of Vermont, and Amidon's family are a strong lifeline in that movement’s heritage. Both Amidon’s parents, Peter and Mary are performers and teachers of music. Growing up in this solid environment with strong family ties most certainly set the scene for Amidon’s musical trajectory. His younger brother is Stefan Amidon, who is a drummer. Learning fiddle at the age of three, and recording/performing since 1988, Amidon has been involved musically with The Amidons (a band formed by his parents that is dedicated to traditional dance and music forms), with brother & friends in Popcorn Behavior/Assembly, Doveman, Stars Like Fleas, Nico Muhly, Childsplay, Wild Asparagus, Siucra, Markus James, Seamus Egan, Billy Budd, Tall Firs, Elysian Fields and Eye Contact, to name quite a few. Not only was Amidon blessed by having talented musicians as parents, he also received tutelage and mentorship along the way from some very well respected artists, including fiddlers Mary Lea and Sue Sternberg, free jazz legend and former Anthony Braxton sideman Leroy Jenkins, and downtown/jazz violinist Mark Feldman. Amidon’s first album, Solo Fiddle, was released in 2001, and mainly comprises of a collection of his interpretations of traditional Irish fiddle pieces recorded with Assembly, a folk band that Amidon formed when he was a teenager, and which also features his drummer brother Stefan. Early in 2007, Amidon returned with But This Chicken Proved False…