Sam Reider & The Human Hands

We have experienced some unforgettable moments as we brought artists we admired in to introduce them to audiences in the UK and Ireland.

Most memorable was perhaps, when The Stray Birds enthralled a big, capacity crowd at Cambridge Folk Festival to win a standing ovation, as we stood proudly in the wings.

Then, when we brought Sam Reider & The Human Hands over for the first time, we enjoyed the thrill of watching them entrance audiences too.

Reider is a creative force of world class stature. His full band – all hand-picked and perfect – is something to behold, and Sam, too, whether in solo performance or in other gloriously appealing formats, will always produce breathtakingly beautiful music.

He first began to make his mark in some cool jazz circles then discovered American roots music in all of its colourful guises, and the subsequent fermentation period produced a heady and uplifting brew inspired as much by Celtic and Eastern European fiddle-tunes as gypsy jazz, and the Western film score. A hugely accomplished composer/pianist/accordionist, he has an insatiable appetite that is constantly being nourished.

The first full band album, Too Hot To Sleep won converts all over this planet. It was an amazing debut crammed with tunes that happily get stuck in your head. He and The Human Hands soon developed a reputation for mind-bending, high-energy sets.

Songlines magazine awarded the CD a prized 5-star Top Of The World rating, writer Doug Deloach saying it was “a lovely, lively romp through the mind of an exceptionally gifted band leader and composer.”

When Donald Shaw invited them over for their own headline show at Glasgow’s Celtic Connections festival, everyone, including the event’s musical director himself, said “wow!”

Reviewers fell over themselves to outdo each other with superlatives.

Since then, Sam has worked almost non-stop on various other projects.

In 2022 he released a sumptuous album of jazz/classical pieces he composed for piano, toured with the full band and continued to write and experiment with fresh ideas.