GEM STAGE
19:15
In 2019 AB went to singer, guitarist, fiddle and banjo player Sam Amidon with the request to reinterpret Harry Smith’s famous anthology and turn it into a contemporary masterpiece.
He felt inspired by what he had done and jumped straight into the studio afterwards to record the EP ‘Fatal Flower Garden’ for Nonesuch (see: Wilco, Rhiannon Giddens,…). Amidon: ‘Fatal Flower Garden is my tribute to the elusive spirit of Harry Smith and to his wondrous Anthology of American Folk Music.’
The house Amidon grew up in was always filled with Appalachian folk music and so it became the soundtrack of his youth.
When ‘The Anthology’ was released on CD in 1997, it shook the world of music for 16 year old Sam: ‘‘When I heard old field recordings of fiddlers and singers on the
mountain, it was as harsh and strange as an Albert Ayler free jazz album.’
Line-up
Sam Amidon - vocals, guitar, banjo
Chris Vatalato - drums
