Sam Amidon

BIOGRAPHY

Samuel Tear Amidon was born June 3, 1981 in Brattleboro, Vermont, to folk artists Peter Amidon and Mary Alice Amidon, who had been members of Bread and Puppet Theater. As a teenager he played in Popcorn Behavior, a group that released five albums and was interviewed on NPR's All Things Considered. He plays banjo, guitar, and fiddle, and is now based in London. Amidon has released seven albums on Bedroom Community and Nonesuch Records, working with collaborators including Nico Muhly, Bill Frisell, and Milford Graves. His most recent album, Salt River, arrived via River Lea/Rough Trade in January 2025.

WHY THEY'RE COOL

Amidon takes traditional American ballads, hymns, and work songs and reworks them with real risk-taking rather than reverence; the New York Times noted he

GEORGE'S PLAYS

First time on the station.

PLAYED ON WOKE1

• Sugar Baby1 PLAY