Projects

The Lost Boys

One of the most exciting bands to have entered the UK folk scene in the past twenty years, Sam’s band The Lost Boys has gained a reputation as one of the best live acts in the UK and they have packed out festival tents and venues the world over since they started in 2016.

With the virtuosic talents of Jamie Francis (banjo), Graham Coe (cello), Toby Shaer (whistles/fiddle), Archie Moss (melodeon) and Evan Carson (drums), The Lost Boys have become known for their eclectic and innovative reworking of traditional songs and tunes from England, Scotland, Ireland and the USA, as well as stunning original music and the occasional surprise classic rock cover.

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The Lost Boys

Kate Rusby

Sam plays guitar and bouzouki in the band of Yorkshire folk singer Kate Rusby, as well as featuring on her albums Philosophers, Poets and Kings (2019) and 30: Happy Returns (2022).

Kate Rusby

Sam Kelly & Jamie Francis

Sam writes and arranges most of his material with his main musical collaborator, Jamie Francis. After meeting at university in Brighton in 2010 and discovering a common interest in roots music, Sam and Jamie began playing together in a folk band, with Jamie (a guitar player first and foremost) deciding to learn to play the banjo because Sam was already the guitarist. They also performed at many open mics and venues as a duo, performing original, folk and blues songs. Naturally, the lives of two young musicians who have absolutely no idea what they´re doing became choc-full of many colourful experiences (including Sam auditioning for ITV´s Britain´s Got Talent whilst in London for a gig, and ending up getting all the way to the final). They still perform together at folk clubs, venues and festivals, performing inventive interpretations of tunes and songs in between (occasionally) funny anecdotes and stories of their misadventures.

Sam Kelly & Jamie Francis

Ainsley Hamill

Sam produced Scottish folk singer/songwriter Ainsley Hamill's album - Fable, in 2024 at Gloworm Recording in Glasgow. Sam also plays bouzouki and electric guitar in her band.

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Ainsley Hamill

The Changing Room

His love for Irish gaelic led Sam on to exploring other celtic languages, namely Cornish - one of the most endangered languages in the world. He co-formed the Cornwall-based collective The Changing Room along with song-writer Tanya Brittain, and they began working with Cornish language expert Dr Ken George to write exciting new folk-infused songs in the Cornish language. This partnership has received national acclaim, attracting guest musicians of the highest calibre including Jon Cleave (Fisherman's Friends) and John McCusker, and after numerous features on Radio 2 and Radio 3, Sam became the first person ever to sing in Cornish on National Radio - generating a huge surge of interest in the largely forgotten language. The Changing Room represented Cornwall at the international Pan Celtic song competition in Derry in April 2015 and took the contest by storm, winning all three categories that they were entered in - Best Original Song, Best Traditional Song, and Best Traditional Band. The project is currently on hiatus, but they have released two full length albums and numerous EPs. Their most recent album was Picking Up The Pieces, which was released in August 2016.

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The Changing Room

Ruth Notman and Sam Kelly

Sam recorded a duo album with folk singer Ruth Notman. The album, titled Changeable Heart, was released on Pure Records in 2019.

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Ruth Notman and Sam Kelly

The Company of Players

Inspired by the likes of The Elizabethan Sessions and The Full English, The Company of Players was a contemporary folk collective set up by Jess Distill of Said The Maiden. The purpose of the collective was to write, record and perform songs inspired by the works of William Shakespeare, as 2016 marks the 400th anniversary of his death. Alongside Sam, the project featured the talents of emerging folk artists Said The Maiden, Lukas Drinkwater, Kelly Oliver, Chris Cleverley, Kim Lowings, Minnie Birch, and Daria Kulesh. Sam recorded and produced the Company Of Players album, Shakespeare Songs, in 2016.

The Company of Players

Kitty Macfarlane

Sam recorded and produced folk singer/songwriter Kitty Macfarlane's 2016 EP Tide & Time. Sam also co-recorded and co-produced Kitty’s debut full length album, Namer Of Clouds, which was one of the top folk releases of 2018 and was released on Navigator Records

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Kitty Macfarlane

Seth Lakeman

Sam was the guitarist in Seth Lakeman’s band at various festival shows throughout 2016 and 2017.

Seth Lakeman

Phil Beer & Friends

Sam played guitar and bouzouki in Phil Beer’s band in winter 2016.

Phil Beer & Friends

The Ballad of the Great War - 1917

Sam was commissioned by BBC Radio 2 to provide music for this special programme alongside Kris Drever, John McCusker, Jez Lowe and more - which first aired on November 11th 2017. Sam sang the songs 'Batman To A Baronet' and 'If I Could Buy A Blighty'.

The Ballad of the Great War - 1917

Geoff Lakeman

Sam appeared on Geoff Lakeman’s debut album ‘After All These Years’ in 2016, playing guitar and adding his vocals to the choruses, alongside a legendary folk cast including the likes of Nic Jones, Seth Lakeman, Cara Dillon, Kathryn Roberts and Jim Causley.

Geoff Lakeman

Kathryn Roberts & Sean Lakeman

Sam appeared on Kathryn Roberts & Sean Lakeman’s 2018 album Personnae singing backing vocals on the song 'The Knight's Ghost'.

Kathryn Roberts & Sean Lakeman

John McCusker

Sam has played guitar and bouzouki on various tours and projects with John McCusker, including his 30th anniversary UK tour in 2022, South Side Of The Tracks at the Queen's Hall in Edinburgh in 2022, and Scotland Unwrapped at King's Place in London in 2024.

John McCusker

Chris Cleverley

Sam recorded, engineered and produced Birmingham folk singer/songwriter Chris Cleverley's 2019 album, We Sat Back And Watched It Unfold.

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Chris Cleverley

The Yellow House All Star Band

Yellow House Booking (Sam's booking agency in Denmark) set up this project to celebrate 10 years of their company. It features a collaboration of various artists from their roster including Sam, Ainsley Hamill, Toby Shaer, Jack Badcock, and Ciaran Ryan. They toured Denmark in 2022 and produced an EP that was co-produced and co-recorded by Sam.

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The Yellow House All Star Band