Sam Slatcher

“Sam's songs convey who he is as a person. His heart for people and social justice inform every word and note of the songs he writes and performs: they and he are as one. An artist with a quiet, infectious passion for humanity and the gift to articulate it to his audience." (Steve Pledger, singer/songwriter)

Sam has always had a love of music and began writing his own songs age 13, after teaching himself guitar. Although he's never stopped writing music, since his move to the North East in 2008, Sam has been more active in writing and reflecting on life through songwriting. In recent years, Sam has been sharing his work at local venues across the North East of England (particularly Newcastle, York and Durham). His more recently work is inspired by the storytelling close to the roots/acoustic/folk tradition, drawing from artists such as Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen and Sting, as well as socially political music (Billy Bragg, Martyn Joseph, Lucy Ward, Gareth Davies-Jones) as Sam weaves together social, political and spiritual themes, philosophy and reflection, with storytelling from experiences involved in engaging with communities.

His music includes collaborations with local musicians from different traditions (including the song Let Peace Fill My Heart based on the ancient Sanskrit prayer for peace, written for National Inter-faith week 2016) as well as songwriting inspired by campaigning for inclusive cities in a project called Home Unbound supported by Durham City of Sanctuary. Sam is an active supporter and volunteer with REfUSE, a North East based campaign to feed bellies not bins, tackling the injustices of food waste and poverty, where he coordinates arts and music engagement. See www.samslatcher.com/projects for more information about Sam’s work in community arts engagement and www.soundcloud.com/samslatcher for samples of Sam’s work. Please do get in touch if you are interested in working with Sam or would like to hire Sam at your event.

“A great example of how arts can be a fantastic method of bringing people together and help in the understanding of diverse communities” (Paresh Solanki, Media and Social Innovation Specialist)
“Sam Slatcher’s music speaks to the heart. He is a singer/songwriter who has something to say about the state of play in the world, but in a calm and unpretentious way that leaves you feeling the world is a better place just by seeing him play live” (Left Field at the People's Bookshop)