Sam Carter‘s latest single, Long Time Travelling, is due for release tomorrow. The hymn, a rousing spiritual from the 19th-century American shape-note tunebook The Sacred Harp, will be familiar to many, having be covered by the likes of Peter Bellamy, Cath & Phil Tyler and Anna & Elizabeth.
Carter’s arrangement features his trademark intricate fingerstyle guitar work and arrives hot on the heels of last year’s Silver Horizon (2024), which was described by KLOF’s Glenn Kimpton as being “as subtle as it is adventurous and finely nuanced, it’s an excellent album and a career-high for Sam.” It also featured in our 2024 Albums Of The Year.
Sam Shared:
Long Time Travelling is better known to some as White, as that’s the name it appears under in shapenote tunebook The Sacred Harp, originally published in 1844. The name is a tribute to B.F. White, one of the original compilers of the book. This is the same book where I got the tune for Dreams Are Made of Money, amongst other songs over the years.
White was one of the first shapenote songs I ever heard around 15 years ago, and the raw, open harmonies and existential themes of this tradition continue to be a source of inspiration.
Don’t miss Sam’s solo tour dates, details of which can be found below.
Upcoming Tour Dates
Thu 24th April Sheffield Cafe 9
Sat 26th April Corsham, Wilts Pound Arts Centre
Sat 10th May Broseley, Shrops Birchmeadow Centre
Sun 11th May London Green Note
Thu 15th May York Black Swan Folk Club
Fri 16th May Harwell, Oxon Harwell Village Hall
Fri 6th June Milton Keynes The Stables
Wed 11th June Hambledon, Hants Hambledon Folk Club
Ticket links and more: https://samcartermusic.co.uk/