Sam Lee Talks Commitment to Keeping British Folk Alive and ‘Singing with Nightingales’ Sessions

Sam Lee is something of a phenomenon. Whereas most folk singers are content to sing of the past and possibly bring folk history into the new, Sam literally lives the folk life. When not producing frankly very cool folk albums with Bernard Butler (Suede), he can be found crusading on a quest to preserve the land and particularly to connect with wildlife, notably nightingales.

He has even published a book, The Nightingale, and every year takes a pilgrimage into the woods to Sing with Nightingales and his followers in a campfire setting. At one point during tonight’s gig at the Philharmonic’s Music Room, he laments the almost certain fact that his generation may be the last to hear the actual call of his beloved birds.

Sam’s latest album, Songdreaming, is a beautiful collection of original compositions based on aged ideas and traditional stories and songs. The cover sees him lying blissfully across a tree branch that hangs over a shimmering stream. It’s clear that Sam is a child of the earth and loves the land he lives in.

The music room is filled with the expected folk crowd who are wholly devoted to Sam and appreciate his stories and songs quite vocally. There is a passion and a warmth in the room before the set even begins.

I have the pleasure tonight of witnessing Sam’s show for the first time and manage to have a chat with him too.

“In Britain and England in particularly there is an impartiality to it, a sense of dismissiveness, and its appalling that we behave like that towards our own traditions and materials…”

Opener, “Green Mossy Banks”, an unused song from the soundtrack of the 2023 British film, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Albert Fry, is an ode to the joys of walking, taking well-trodden ancient paths and following in the footsteps of history. It’s a gentle, lilting start to the evening, but already I am envious of Sam’s lifestyle. When he speaks between songs his manner is relaxed and whilst clearly concerned about the future of the planet, he seems at the same time at peace.

His sense of awe at the world is how he describes his next song, “McCrimmon”. This is one of the many moments tonight where Sam’s voice recalls that of Nick Drake, a comparison I am sure he would welcome. The inspiration for the song goes all the way back to 1745 and has taken several transformations before Sam’s current take. It’s nothing short of breathtaking.

The Donovan like “Aye Walking Oh”, as the title suggests is another song about walking, inspired by Robert Burns and describes by Sam in his sleeve notes as “A lullaby for heavy hearted romantics and restless wanderers”. Butler’s production creates an atmosphere reminiscent of This Mortal Coil’s version of “Song to the Siren” and the acoustics in The Music Room help to reproduce that mood well.

Powerful album opener, “Bushes and Briars”, a song based around an Essex folk song that thus inspired Vaughan Williams’ “Lark Ascending” poem, was similarly created by Sam under the influence of Nightingale song. This is one of the recurring moments when Sam’s music holds together nature and composition in an astonishing union. The song turns quite proggy to the end and Sam moves with the melody, often to the point of frantic. There are crossover points of folk and rock in his work that are sublime.

“The Tanyard Side” from Sam’s 2019 album, Old Wow, his first departure tonight from Songdreaming incorporates notable use of the Shruti Box, an accordion like instrument of Indian origin and is based around a song by English Gypsy singer Phoebe Smith who apparently could be heard three fields away due to her most powerful voice. These stories vividly bring Sam’s songs to life and add much welcome context.

Similarly, another Gypsy singer May Bradley is the inspiration for “Leaves of Life”, an absolute highlight from the new album, which tells of the journey that Mary took with seven virgins to Jesus’ side at the crucifixion. The song takes a dramatic turn towards the end and becomes something of a tribal dance, undertaken by Sam. The album version whilst beautiful, lacks this powerful ending to some extent, with this in mind I was glad to have witnessed this exciting live version.

“Lay this Body Down” from Old Wow takes on a folk / jazz style and at times feels like a New Orleans funeral. It is quite a departure from the other songs in the set and finishes in a soul stirring acapella.

After a short bar break Sam returns with a version of traditional folk song “John Barleycorn”, a song that was memorably recorded by Traffic in 1970.

This is followed by “The Garden of England”, the euphoric opener from Old Wow, Sam describes this as a song about songs themselves.

Sam Lee ‘Songdreaming’ Album Artwork

Returning to his new collection of songs, “Sweet Girl McCree” is offered to the audience to join in on the recurring chorus. It’s a song about loss and is based on an original composition by Irish traveller, Nan Connors. Sam sings the song to remember Connors and show that despite a person passing, their memory remains through their music. It’s a genuinely moving moment and the audience become completely involved.

“Meeting is a Pleasant Place”, despite its early placing on the album is epic and the live version creates an even more heart swelling finale. Described by Sam as “An anthem for a future that holds a nature-centric ideology at its heart”. Based on an old Devon gypsy folk song, the repetition becomes mantra-like and in some ways sums up Sam’s design for life.

As the set draws to a close, “Soul Cake” is a rhythmic piece based around the magnificent pounding drums of Joshua Green, that takes on a new upfront life from the more subdued Old Wow album version.

“Education is a complex word as it shuts down a lot, so I see myself as part of a whole group of people who are trying to inspire more than educate”

Final song, “Lovely Molly” is a soft love song about a plough boy who must leave behind his lovely Molly to go War, and namechecks what Sam calls “The holy trinity of birds”, The mavis, the turtle dove and of course, the nightingale.

Sam Lee brings a freshness to British folk, and not just by his association with Bernard Butler. His songs are intriguing, steeped in ancient history but also accessible and relevant in their eco-friendly themes. The joy Sam radiates from his performance is infectious and his live take on his new album is different enough to merit seeking him out on future dates.

I feel somewhat enlightened by Sam’s discussions of nature and conservation and I ask him if education is an important part of what he does.

Sam – “Education is a complex word as it shuts down a lot, so I see myself as part of a whole group of people who are trying to inspire more than educate, what I want more than anything is for people to feel more, and that might then lead them to read a book or be more involved intellectually or physically. So, I think education is just one aspect of it, but there are many call to actions in that sense, and that’s an important part of what I’m trying to instigate.”

I ask Sam If he can expand a little on the Nightingale concerts that will be following his tour.

Sam – “They start on the 11^th of April and I spend seven weeks living in the woods, and at night an audience comes down, around forty people a night. They join with me and a guest musician and its storytelling, an ecology experience and its also a journey into the kind of meditation of how to be with nature at night listening to an exquisite song. So it’s a very powerful experience that’s transformational for a lot of people.”

DP – “How long have you been doing these events?”

Sam – “This is the ninth year. If you want to come this year, be quick as they are selling out fast”.

DP – “On your album, you are taking some ancient material, bringing it up to date and putting your own spin on it. How important is it to you, keeping those stories alive for your audiences and for younger people too?”

Sam – “I think its very important, I feel like this material has been neglected. I think that the general national relationship towards our folk music is pretty negligent and dismissive, in a way that if you were to challenge any other culture or country beyond of England, and threaten to take it away it would be fiercely defended. In Britain and England in particularly there is an impartiality to it, a sense of dismissiveness, and its appalling that we behave like that towards our own traditions and materials, but it also reflects upon a wider malaise of identity and respect in relationship to culture – human culture and non-human culture.”

“I spend seven weeks living in the woods, and at night an audience comes down, around forty people a night. They join with me and a guest musician and its storytelling, an ecology experience…”

I mention to Sam how I feel his music is upbeat ad certainly has the capacity to reach a wider audience beyond the usual folk circuit.

Sam – “I hope so, I really do hope so.”

DP – “I suppose your connection with Bernard Butler helps to bring a different audience. What’s the story there, he’s not somebody you would necessarily link with folk?”

Sam – “Well Bernard has a very deep folk vein to him, he was mentored and protégéd by Bert Jansch, one of the legendary folk guitarists, so actually he has got a thoroughbred folk aspect to him, even though he’s more widely known as being in a rock band, and having produced more rock music. Like many musicians he has many feathers to his bow, and a sensitivity towards the material. And in many respects, this idea that as a folk singer I should only work with folk musician is rather disproven. In fact, there isn’t anyone who I have played with for many years who has a British folk background, and none of my band are folk musicians – its just music that has been made as music by musicians.”

Song Dreaming is available on Cooking Vinyl and his Singing with Nightingales campfire project will be taking place in Sussex and Gloucestershire forests throughout April and May. For details visit singingwithnightingales.co.uk