Bio

Lucy Sampson is a singer-songwriter based in Benhall, Suffolk, grounded in the great tradition of British song writing and acoustic roots, with a fresh and uncluttered indie-folk sensibility. Lucy would cite the Watersons, Kate Rusby, Norah Jones, Jim Moray, and Eliza Carthy, as influences. There are echoes of Laura Marling and Sarah Siskind in her vocal approach, and a splash of John Martyn and Nick Drake modality to her guitar style.

Lucy’s musical tastes were largely shaped by her father, a farmer from Suffolk. She grew up listening to Paul Simon, Prelude, British folk and frequently attended folk festivals and workshops. Lucy studied music from an early age, learning to play the drums, violin, as well as singing in the Suffolk Jubilee Choir from the age of 14. As an young adult Lucy taught herself guitar, ukulele and mandolin as her interest in folk and americana grew further. She actively began writing in 2008 distilling all these influences into a unique and distinctive playing style. Initially playing local venues, around Sizewell, Halesworth, and Ipswich as a solo artist, she experimented with band set-ups, forming a trio with the Wild Oats bass player Tony Mumford and their drummer, Stykx, before deciding to strip back to a basic duo set-up, Lucy on vocals, guitar and ukulele, and a bass, initially Andy Heaseman, and more recently with Ian Bearcroft on upright double bass. Having found her ideal musical calibrator and performance set-up, she took to the studio to record her first EP.

Lucy has appeared on Graeme Mac’s ‘introducing’ show on BBC local radio where her signature track ‘Blue’ was added to the daily playlist. After a small appearance on Felixstowe radio, she was recently invited to play a charity event for the ‘EACH’ at the Spa Pavilion headlined by Matt Cardle. She participated in Live & Unsigned 2011 as well as Suffolk Soundwaves, and won the ‘Go for a song’ competition at the Maverick Festival in 2011, for which her prize is a slot at the Maverick Festival in 2012. Lucy is playing a number of local festivals throughout the summer, including Folk East at Somerleyton. Lucy’s talent and rapid success has attracted the attention of local recording and management to duo Paul Nicholas, and Andy Corrigan, with whom she plans to record two more EPs and further reach out on the local and national stage.