SAM was born in Brattleboro, Vermont, June 3, 1981. His parents are Peter and Mary Alice Amidon. His little brother is the great Stefan Amidon, who is a drummer. Sam currently lives in, he forgets, somewhere near New York City.

Electronic Press Kit for All Is Well (has hi-res promo photos & other stuff)

PRESS (click links for the full review)

Praise for "All Is Well:"

"In an era of overheated Nick Drake comparisons, Amidon is eerily close to the real thing, singing in a fragile but certain tenor againsnt the deep breath and soft sweep of Nico Muhly's orchestrations...a public domain that is all inner space."
-David Fricke, Rolling Stone

"All Is Well is not music; it is as pure as the tune your mother hummed the first time she saw your face, and almost anything else is corrupt and forged in comparison."
-Lost At Sea

"Think Steinbeck with Chuck Taylors on."
-Spin

"These songs inhabit their own world, closed off from the rest of humanity...Amidon doesn't just update the old world to the new, but finds the roots of the new world in the old."
-Pitchfork (7.8 rating)

“sky-scrapingly great ... All Is Well is viscerally stunning, comforting, upsetting, entrancing.”
-Stylus Magazine

“With All Is Well, Sam Amidon has crafted a precious gem of a record, all in nuances and shades, with delicate overtones and airy harmonies. Sigur∂sson’s production is light and subtle yet it gives these songs fantastic depth and contrast without ever overshadowing Amidon’s delivery. “
-The Milk Factory

"A soaring and beautiful butterfly of an album, rich with tuneful wonder and epic song craft.
-Musique Machine

Praise for "But This Chicken Proved Falsehearted:"

"But This Chicken Proved False Hearted is undoubtedly as engaging a sonic experiment as any you'll hear this year."
-Angry Ape

"The most interesting folk album of 2007." -Stylus

"...equal parts Nick Drake, Robert Johnson, and Deliverance, with a dash of ‘80s synth-pop for flavor...This is the great American folk album.
- The Nerve

"...his often-cracking warble is the anchor of this release, and it works perfectly. He seems aware of his vocal limitations, but he uses those boundaries to enhance the delivery the songs the same way singers like Bascom Lamar Lunsford and Bob Dylan have...If this album leads people to trace the roots of these songs, then Samamidon's job was well done."
 -Prefix (7.5 stars out of 10)

"Samamidon breathe new life into old, and sometimes forgotten, songs, which ends up making But This Chicken Proved Falsehearted a fantastic listen."
 -All Music Guide (4 Stars out of 5)

"Singer-banjoist Sam Amidon's repertoire is made up of adapted American folk songs, but he puts a unique stamp on the material with his gentle, eerily deadpan voice and subtle arrangements."
-TimeOut NY

Miscellaneous Commentary:

"Sam Amidon yelling hillbilly music at the top of his voice."
-The New York Times, March 19, 2007

"Sam Amidon proves that a banjo needn't play a breakdown to evoke the pain of a breakdown." -The Washington Post, August 3, 2005

"In this photo [my drivers license picture], you look like the boy from Lord Of The Rings. Except that in this photo, your eyes are not blue. His eyes are so blue. When you look into them, it is as if you are looking at the ring."

-The Bank Teller at Washington Mutual, Dekalb Ave, Brooklyn, August 16, 2006