Sam Shackleton’s music is greatly inspired by the rich inter-connected musical oral traditions of Scotland, Ireland, and the United States. Strongly influenced by the 1960s folk revival, his unique sound is a mix of country, old time, traditional, folk, and blues with a Scottish spirit. He was born in Stirling and raised all over Scotland, from the Borders to the Highlands, and his music is deeply inspired by the oral tradition, musical culture, and landscapes of Scotland. Sam also holds a Research Masters degree with distinction in Scottish Ethnology from the renowned academic folk music institution, the School
of Scottish Studies, specializing in folklore and ethnomusicology. Sam burst onto the global folk and country scene after being discovered busking on the streets of his hometown, Edinburgh, Scotland, by filmmaker Anthony Simpkins. Sam was then featured on Nashville based YouTube channel GemsOnVHS alongside artists such as Sierra Ferell and Benjamin Tod, with his popular video Cuckoo Bird connecting him with a large North American and global audience.

In the years since, Sam has had major viral success with his hit singles on Spotify, such as The Lone Prairie, The Overgate, and Wild Bill Jones, and his numerous viral videos on Instagram and TikTok from where he has developed a large, passionate, and dedicated global audience. He was subsequently invited to open major international tours across the world for artists like The Mary Wallopers, Pokey LaFarge, Lukas Nelson, Willi Carlise, and Oliver Anthony. Sam has also built up an impressive headline resume of his own, having sold out all of his own headline shows in the UK, and recently selling out a majority of the shows on his 20-date debut USA tour in prestigious venues such as Zebulon in Los Angeles, Tractor Tavern in Seattle, and Swallow Hill Music in Denver.

With a pastoral upbringing in northern Wisconsin, Ross Thorn’s music emanates as a warm and soulful hymn, waking up optimistically beside a snow-covered window. His sharply crafted and often humorous lyrics—distinctly reminiscent of great folk artists like John Prine—reveal internal struggles of empathy, questions of human character and virtue, and a search for hope, often finding solace in some unanticipated truth.