Blues and Bourbon Wednesdays: Annie Sampson Band

“…Annie’s all over the place, rocking and scolding, testifying and crying, torching and lusting, and celebrating love, life and ever increasing strength.” -Ben Fong-Torres, Editor, Rolling Stone Magazine

Annie brings a six piece band for her long-awaited debut at the Starlet Room.

The love of music pervades every note Annie Sampson sings. The youngest of 12 children, her early years were spent in the fertile musical climate of rural Louisiana surrounded by a family of teachers and ministers who sang together as a way of life. Her special gifts were first recognized at age five when she won a church talent show. Annie has continued to electrify, move and delight audiences ever since. Annie Sampson’s unique approach to song – whether a blues, a rock tune, a country and western ballad or a modem folk classic, was honed in her youth by singing in Bay Area church and school choirs. She then landed a principal part in the hit musical Hair at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. When the popular rock group Stoneground recruited her to become lead singer, she left the show and joined the group for a series of national and international tours. Buoyed by the popularity of their four Warner Brothers albums, Annie and Stoneground played the gamut of venues – from the Fillmore West and Winterland to Oxford University and the Olympia Theatre in Paris with stops at every major American and European city and campus in between. A big talent like Annie’s did not go unnoticed by her peers. She has recorded with Elvin Bishop, Taj Mahal, Buddy Miles, Maria Muldaur, Eddie Money and Country Joe MacDonald, as well as performed with Bonnie Raitt, Boz Scaggs, Otis Clay, Sammy Hagar, Commander Cody, Steve Miller, Nick Gravenites, Clarence Clemmons, Elvis Costello and the late Jerry Garcia – among others.

Since the mid-1980s, Annie has been leading her own band which performs regularly at Bay Area nightclubs such as Sweetwater in Mill Valley, Slim’s and Lou’s Pier 47 in San Francisco as well as making special appearances at the San Francisco Symphony’s Black and White Ball, the Domaine Chandon Music Festival and the Oakland and Novato Art Festivals. Under The Moon, Annie’s newest CD on her own Sweet Potatoe label, captures the salt and savor of her rich voice and warm presence. Backed by friends such as Elvin Bishop, Annie sculpts her own and others’ blues into instant classics. Under the Moon captures Annie’s definite style – with the love of music in every note. This night she brings her longtime guitarist John Whitney and guitarist Gary Vogensen, bass guitarist Steve Hazelwood, trumpeter Tom Fuglestad, and drummer Gary Silva.

“… a powerhouse show by Annie Sampson and her soulful band. Annie has a voice that elevates every song, whether it’s a cover or one of her own, to new heights.” – San Jose Mercury-News

“What a view she provides singing and leading a collective look deep into the human soul. Her amazing band of Bay Area music veterans takes it’s time relishing every chord and note. Standing ovations are made of this!” -Jim Ocean/OceanWorks Productions