Sam Amidon is the product of a folk musician family in Vermont who returned to playing traditional songs via his experiences in punk rock and experimental music. I am planning on writing more about Mr. Amidon soon--a few weeks ago I discovered his last record, All is Well, and it was a revelation. If you're looking for the intersection of urban and rural arts, and how each perspective can inform the other, then follow the All is Well link to stream the whole record. Simply put, this is the finest record I have heard in a very long time.
NPR's World Cafe is streaming an eight minute clip that features two songs from his forthcoming record I See The Sign. Like the previous record, it's recorded and arranged with his label mates at Bedroom Community Records, most notably Nico Muhly--perhaps America's most talked-about emerging classical composer, the protegé of Philip Glass. Beth Orton also makes an appearances on the record, so this is looking to be a fantastic collection of songs.
