Sam Outlaw: chitarra, voce
Hannah Aldridge: chitarra, voce
Andrew Leahey: chitarra, voce
Katie Bates: basso, voce
“Best new country music.” (Holler)
"Exceptionally serene and pleasing." (NPR)
"Sam Outlaw has a lot going for him. A talented singer and songwriter." (No Depression)
"For anyone who feels similarly disenchanted about country music, Outlaw's songs - closely bound to tradition, endlessly romantic - are the perfect remedy." (American Songwriter)
"Outlaw has ideas to spare, and his instinct to nurture them in the wild West is the right one." (Nashville Scene)
"Sam Outlaw has a wonderfully rich and mournful country voice." (The Telegraph)
"A legitimate contender to be the biggest country star L.A. has produced since Dwight Yoakam." (LA Weekly)
"A cosmopolitan west coast take on traditional country music with songs that are moody and wry all at once." (The Guardian)
"(Sam's music) is polished and Southern Californian in its sensibility. But Outlaw's sense of humor gives his work an edge." (The New Yorker)
The acclaimed American singer-songwriter Sam Outlaw returns to Europe for a highly anticipated tour.
“This tour is very special because it will feature an acoustic band made up of extraordinary talents: Andrew Leahey (Nashville), Hannah Aldridge (Nashville), and Katie Bates (from Melbourne, Australia). It’s been quite a while since I last toured without the classic ‘rock’ setup, so this is a great opportunity to present my most beloved songs in a new way and maybe try out some tracks I haven’t played much before.” The tour follows the release of his album “Terra Cotta”, in which the artist blended the California-infused Americana sound on which he has built his career with the ‘80s synth-driven rock tones of his third album “Popular Mechanics” (2021), embracing the unique style he himself calls New Wave Western. Driven by a desire for collaboration, in Terra Cotta Sam duetted with Lauren Morrow, Molly Martin, and, for the second time, with fellow Midwesterner Sarah Darling. Always on the move, Outlaw closed last year by releasing the single “Up All Night.”
Born in the Midwest and raised in California, Sam now lives in Nashville. Outlaw is his mother’s maiden name. He worked in advertising while writing songs as a hobby. He began his music career performing in small venues near his home in Los Angeles. In 2015, when he was invited to open shows for Justin Townes Earle on a tour of Australia, Sam left advertising to pursue music full-time. That same year, he released his debut album “Angeleno”, produced and performed by Ry Cooder and his son Joachim, with contributions from Gabe Witcher (Punch Brothers), Bo Koster (My Morning Jacket), and Taylor Goldsmith (Dawes). "Angeleno" received enthusiastic, universal acclaim and garnered multiple award nominations. In 2017, Sam released his second album, “Tenderheart”, also a critical success, hailed as one of the best country records of the year and winner of “International Song of the Year” at the UK Americana Awards in London. Sam has toured extensively as a headliner worldwide, performing at major festivals such as Stagecoach, Pilgrimage Music Festival, and Hardly Strictly Bluegrass. He has also shared the stage supporting artists such as Kacey Musgraves, John Prine, Dwight Yoakam, Clint Black, and Sheryl Crow. In 2018, Sam and his family moved from Los Angeles to Nashville, and the following year Sam made his debut at the Grand Ole Opry. Since then, he has returned to that stage many times, along with countless others around the world. In 2021, he released his third album “Popular Mechanics”, followed in 2024 by “Terra Cotta”: two records that combine ‘80s-style synth-pop with country music to create a sound Sam himself calls New Wave Western. Among his admirers are Ryan Adams, who publicly praised him for his “extraordinary songwriting,” and the late John Prine, who invited Sam to open some of his final shows. Sam Outlaw appears at FolkClub with his acoustic band, made up of Andrew Leahey, Katie Bates and Hannah Aldridge, an extraordinary and captivating singer-songwriter from Alabama, with a rough and melodious voice, who will open the evening.
Hannah Aldridge grew up on the muddy banks of Muscle Shoals—her birthright is music and Alabama. A reckoning between her coming-of-age in the South and a lifetime of trying to create an identity outside of it, her songs strike a delicate balance between rebellion and self-discovery. These two themes weave through Aldridge’s gifted storytelling, making for records that soothe like a lullaby and crack like a whip. For those raised in the Bible Belt, Aldridge’s music sounds like the voice of an old friend who understands. For those not in the know, her music is an initiation to the dark side of the South, Christian fundamentalism and the struggle to forge a future in a place haunted by its past. Daughter of Muscle Shoals legend Walt Aldridge, Hannah started her musical journey as a classically-trained pianist. It wasn’t until her early twenties that she first picked up a guitar and began using music as an outlet to grapple with her demons. With a voice equal parts gritty and melodic, the emerging artist took to the road, entertaining crowds in ten countries and three continents with her acclaimed debut album Razor Wire, superb follow-up Gold Rush and Live in Black and White - a beautifully captured live album recorded in London, England. Aldridge has expanded her artistic vision with the ambitious, cinematic Dream of America, which is set to be released in 2023 on Swedish alternative indie label, Icons Creating Evil Art. A highly collaborative project, produced in three corners of the world with renowned Melbourne based artist/producer Lachlan Bryan, producer/engineer Damian Cafarella and Swedish mix engineer Frans Hägglund, the record peers through the lens of fading Hollywood starlets, charming psychopaths and weary vagabonds - navigating society’s underbelly through dark, romantic vignettes. Hannah’s haunting vocals, assisted by her father’s expert vocal production, deliver a cathartic message of defiance. Hannah Aldridge’s fierce Southern energy reaches through every speaker, whether it’s in a dashboard doing 80 down I-65, a rock club in Amsterdam or a Honky Tonk in her adopted hometown of Nashville. The new album treads a fine line between the genial charm of Americana, and the raw, hypnotic and occasionally electronic stylings of what some might like to call ‘noir indie pop’. It is music for those looking to confront their demons without remaining tethered to them. Deploying a charming blend of power and vulnerability, Aldridge delivers her stories with all the conviction of a church bell ringing out through the streets of a small Alabama town.
