Unusual folk about usual feelings.
Samson Wrote (AKA Sam Boer) is a musician, writer, and theatre practitioner. Their debut album, Pigeon, (2019)—a collection of songs that considered how familial upbringing affects the most intimate moments of life—was nominated for a Canadian Folk Music Award in the “Pushing the Boundaries” category and praised by Exclaim! as “prolific and expansive.” His recent single, “Little Parts,” a song produced as part of Otherwise Studios / Bumaroo Festival’s Co-Create Residency, was nominated for “Song of the Year” by Folk Music Ontario in 2022.
Sam co-directs The Uncommon Folk Collective, a music-forward contemporary theatre group, whose first original musical Ursa: A Folk Musical (co-created with composer/songwriter Jake Schindler), was praised by The Guardian and The WholeNote. It has been presented at the Toronto Fringe’s NextStage Festival, the Stratford Festival (through the “Stratfest @ Home” online streaming platform), the Kingston Grand Theatre (as part of the 2022 Watershed Festival), and various unique settings, from a provincial park to a cave, as the first show chosen for Tweed & Company’s Site-Specific theatre program.
As a singer-songwriter and as a multi-instrumentalist for several groups—including The Lifers and Run Coyote—Sam has performed across Canada and Europe, including festival sets at Egersund Visefestival (Norway), Flourish (Fredericton, NB), Hillside (Guelph, ON), Summerfolk (Owen Sound, ON), Mariposa (Orillia, ON), and Blue Skies (Clarendon Station, ON).
Believing that the creation and performance of music is just one of the ways an artist contributes to the community, Sam has also written music journalism for various Canadian publications; hosted an interview-based podcast through CFRU 93.3 FM called Lyrically Speaking; led music classes for young children as a certified Music Together instructor; provided project management support for Canadian acts like James Gordon, Moonfruits and Katherine Fischer; filmed live videos for acts like JoJo Worthington, Tragedy Ann, and Annie Sumi; and, as part of the University of Guelph’s Improvisation Institute, has helped produce all four editions of IF, their 24-hour international arts festival.
