This event has been rescheduled to Friday 26 January 2024. Ticket holders will be contacted regarding the new date.

“Maybe the most captivating songwriter in America.” Lone Star Music

Sam Baker makes people happy. The characters in his songs face many challenges – alcoholism, car wrecks, racism, drug addiction, a mother’s abandonment – but they persevere. Much like Sam himself.

In 1986 Sam got in the middle of someone else’s war. When a terrorist bomb exploded in his train compartment, he went from being a young, healthy, tourist enjoying Peru with friends to a broken man surrounded by death and dying. Given his injuries, he too should have died. But through a series of miracles and coincidences he survived.

There were lots of surgeries, and the requisite pain pills. His leg was saved by a successful femoral arterial graft. When the cranial bleed in his brain healed, he had to re-learn nouns, and after his right eardrum was replaced, he regained some hearing. With the top of his left hand gone, it seemed that his formerly skillful hands had been transformed into blocks of wood, but eventually those hands learned how to play an upside-down guitar.

Physically, Sam was recovering, but his life was filled with pills, booze, and rage. Then came the voices and messengers that helped him see that the greatest gift is life itself. He learned about forgiveness. He needed to tell his story. Songs started to come from that upside-down guitar. Before he knew it, there were CDs, tours around the world, an interview with Terry Gross, and awards in Rolling Stone.

Sam feels compelled to tell his story – through his music, art, or any means possible – to one person at a time, or to thousands from a festival stage.

A Sam Baker show is a celebration. Some songs tell of everyday people who survive life’s daily challenges; others are stories of growing up in a small Texas prairie town. All his shows are an acknowledgment and appreciation of the pure joy that comes with people gathering to listen to live music. Sam’s fans travel to see him, often driving hours to experience the powerful performance. After the show, they tell Sam their stories.

Go in peace. Go in kindness. Go in love.

Dates & Times

Last session: Thu 12 Oct 2023 at 8:00 PM - This event has now passed
Derby Hall @ The Met
From £16 (inc fees)

Covid Safety at The Met

This will be a full-capacity event with a non-socially distanced audience; we will however still be utilising many Covid safety measures for your safety and the safety of our staff.

Learn about our COVID safety measures

Reviews

“The Bard of the Workaday World.”

Wall Street Journal

“Simultaneously beautiful and broken…Sam Baker is an artist worth waiting for.”

NPR All Things Considered

“Sam Baker is an island of warmth and hope in dangerous times.”

Neon Filler

Related events

Music -

BBS On Tour

Bury Blind Society present a night filled with music, fun, and entertainment for a cause that truly matters.

Book
Music -

Gigspanner Big Band

Gigspanner Big Band are Steeleye Span's Peter Knight, percussionist Sacha Trochet, guitarist Roger Flack, folk award winners Phillip Henry and Hannah Martin, and Bellowhead's John Spiers. They return with new album Turnstone.

Book
Music -

Desperado (EAGLES Tribute)

Desperado faithfully recreate The Eagles’ amazing catalogue of songs with a superb two hour show, delivering their greatest hits with the precision that fans deserve.

Book