Sambambo

Sam is a sax player and singer-songwriter who is heavily inspired by jazz and Black American Music.

One minute she’ll have you chuckling, then she’ll have your head nodding and your foot tapping, and in the next moment you’ll find yourself deeply moved by a very vulnerable song. She flits between blowing you away with her sax playing and singing with a voice like butter.

In her songs she tells her own and others’ stories of homelessness, poverty, abortion, grief and bipolar disorder. She also has some silly songs, including one about a bee with hayfever and another about a worm looking for love. Many of her newest songs talk about heartache and femininity, and she sings in English, Spanish and Swahili. She’s impossible not to like, and her bouncy joy for music is infectious.

Last year, she composed for her first short film, led her band at the Canopy, and played Upstairs at Ronnie Scott’s. Her work as a session sax player has also seen her play bigger stages at The Great Escape and Great Exhibition Road Festival and support many independent artists in the UK jazz, soul and blues scene. All of her songs are yet unreleased, but she’ll be dropping her first singles in the coming months.

Sam’s first Greenbelt was spent in the womb, and she’s been an avid Greenbelter ever since. Last year she played sax across the weekend with Natalie Lindi, Lizmnk and Chris Read as well as doing her own sets at the Canopy and the Caravan of Love, and we had to have her back.

“Greenbelt holds a very special place in my heart, and I have so many core memories here. I love the vibe and ethos for many reasons, but especially close to my heart is its wholehearted queerness. I found not just love and acceptance, but total empathy and understanding here as a young teenager when I was (first) angry with the Bible and the church. The words ‘queer Christian’ are still oxymoronic to many people, but not at Greenbelt, where one can find equal appreciation as a fervent anti-Christian. (I know, because I did).

I literally cannot wait to play at Greenbelt again. It’s my favourite festival in the world.”

She hasn’t released any music publicly yet, but has shown us the demos. We think she’s great and know you’ll love her too.