BRATTLEBORO — Brattleboro native Sam Amidon will perform a solo concert of reimagined folk songs accompanied by banjo and guitar, fiddle tunes, and storytelling on Thursday, July 14, at 7:30 p.m. at the newly renovated Next Stage in Putney.
Now living in London, Amidon tours the U.K., U.S., Europe, and Australia with his performances of reimagined traditional songs from the public domain, as well as the occasional contemporary pop song - rearranged into his own unique and mesmerizing compositions, according to a news release.
Sam Amidon was raised by Brattleboro folk musicians/singers Peter and Mary Alice Amidon with whom he toured and performed along with brother Stefan through his childhood and youth. He first garnered national attention as a fiddler in his collaboration with Stefan and friend Thomas Bartlett in their cutting-edge teen contradance band “Popcorn Behavior” (later joined by Keith Murphy).
During and after college, Amidon studied and explored free jazz in New York City, studying privately with the iconic free-jazz fiddler Leroy Jenkins and playing and performing in the city free-jazz scene.
These threads came together in 2007 in the release of Amidon's first album of reimagined and recomposed folk songs, “But This Chicken Proved Falsehearted,” followed quickly by “All Is Well,” which was recorded in Iceland featuring arrangements by composer Nico Muhly.
He released his fifth solo album, “Lily-O,” in 2014, recorded in Iceland with Bill Frisell and released on Nonesuch Records. Amidon sings and plays banjo, fiddle, and acoustic guitar on the album.
In addition to his solo albums, Amidon has frequently collaborated with Nico Muhly, Doveman, Beth Orton, and Bill Frisell; he has recently appeared as a guest on albums by Tune-Yards, Aoife O'Donovan, Glen Hansard, and The Blind Boys of Alabama.