Sam Bartlett Musician
- Mandolin, tenor banjo, 5-string banjo, & guitar
- Trad music in Irish, old-time, & New England styles
- Friend to the musically challenged
Sam Bartlett is a traditional musician known throughout the United States for his mandolin, banjo, and guitar playing as well as his original music. His compositions have been profiled on NPR’s All Things Considered, aired on the Thistle & Shamrock, and his playing has been featured in two Ken Burns documentaries, Prohibition and The Dust Bowl.
Sam has performed and taught traditional dance music to communities throughout the country and beyond for the past 35 years, from venues as diverse as Wolf Trap and Jacob’s Pillow, to the Skopje International Festival in Macedonia, the National Theater of Taiwan, and the Alaska Folk Festival.
A solid member of the touring contra dance circuit for more than half his life, Sam has also recorded with a virtual who’s who of American old-time musicians, among them: Brad Leftwich, Linda Higginbotham, Abby Ladin, Garry Harrison, Paul Brown, Rafe Stefanini, Pete Sutherland, Dirk Powell, Rodney Miller, and Rick Good.
Most recently, Sam was recognized by Traditional Arts Indiana as a Master Artist of the Irish style tenor banjo.
Concurrent with a busy touring schedule, Sam maintains a regular remote teaching practice. He specializes in Irish and New England styles on tenor banjo and mandolin, finger picking 5-string, and old-time guitar.
“I love NOTHING better than to have a new student, passionate about learning traditional music. I don’t care about talent, but I really love passion, and a willingness to learn fearlessly. That’s no small thing. I teach by ear with support materials, always audio clips, some tablature and music. I always sneak in music theory, but without really announcing it. Because of a life on the go, I was using Zoom to teach BEFORE the pandemic. I am very comfortable with remote teaching.
Learning music is so psychological. It can definitely bring out people’s insecurities. I feel very sensitive toward this, but at the same time I want to help each student get to a new place and that always takes some fearless perseverance. I want to help you!”
