WATCH: Sam Beeton - 'French Algiers (Innocent Crim)'

What's that, you thought you'd made it through all of the blog anniversary posts? No such luck. Not quite ready to stop celebrating as I received a belated and very very exciting video a couple of days ago. Arriving into my inbox after my first day back at work readying our shop to re-open tomorrow, this was such a treat. Not just a live video, but an unheard track and a short film (which is hilariously brilliant) from one of my favourite musical humans, Sam Beeton. Somehow I haven't seem Sam live since late 2013, and I think this is the first new music (online, at least) from him in... years? Ahhh! Exciting!

A little back story: Sam was the support act the first time I saw The Hoosiers live. He was brilliant and we used to tweet a lot, and I signed up to his 'Record Club' through which he posted out a CD to fans with a couple of brand new tracks, usually once a month. A couple of months after the first show, I organised for him to play at my school fête as part of his house tour. A musician popping round to my house for tea and cake made me suddenly (and temporarily) cool. Over the next couple of years I saw him playing a few more shows, including my first ever gig in London and a support slot for Charlie Simpson. 

I managed to borrow Sam for some modelling and chatting to camera for a few different projects for my Media Studies class. We made a music documentary extract (complete with blooper video), an album cover and a few pages from a music magazine, which I suppose was my first foray into music journalism - still really proud of that work! 

Anyway, watch the video... and then head to Spotify (or wherever you listen to music) to listen to his 2015 record In The Yard, it's gorgeous. Also, I took his current Spotify photo... claim to fame!

Thanks Sam!!!

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WATCH: Sam Beeton - 'Late For a Train'

You could say it's been a while... after the release of his record In The Yard at the start of 2015, and a few session videos last Spring, it's been just over a year since we've heard any new music from Sam Beeton - until now! Sam is back with new track (ahh!!) Late For A Train, filmed in a session with new channel Bee Happy, in the stunning setting of a 19th century reservoir. 

I know that Sam's been busy working away on new music for the past couple of years, so it feels great to finally get a sneak peak into some new material and I love the track. Hopefully it's a sign that there's more to come in the not so distant future... maybe even a chance to see Sam live (the last show I caught in November 2013 is a long time ago!)

LISTEN: May 2016 playlist

With deadlines, and moving back home (and away from Oxford and it's wonderful music scene) I've only been to a couple of gigs this month, so when it came to making a playlist of what I've been listening to this month, I couldn't just rely on artists I've seen live... One of the shows I have been to is childhood favourites Busted, so they feature, alongside current (teen?) favourites The Hoosiers, so this month's playlist is pretty nostalgic. Here's the playlist, and I'll write a little to explain why I've included the tracks below. 

1. Busted Meet You There - loved seeing this track performed live from the B stage at their arena show in Nottingham, one of my favourite tracks by them! 
2. Tom Odell Magnetised - new track from Tom's upcoming album Wrong Crowd which is released on June 10th! Wish I'd nabbed a HMV priority ticket to his London instore album launch/signing... still tempted by Brixton later in the year! 
3. Leo Stannard Lost (acoustic) - can't get enough of Leo at the moment, excited to see he's done an album cover shoot this month so hopefully some album news is on the way!
4. The Hoosiers Cops and Robbers - my favourite band, featuring three times on this month's playlist (deserved!) because on Saturday (28th) it was 5 years since I saw them live for the first time, which was my first proper gig too! SO many great times since then.
5. Grace Lightman Faultless - I saw Grace supporting Liu Bei last October, her vocals on this new track are pretty stunning.
6. Sam Beeton Moving Out - what makes being a fan of The Hoosiers even more special for me is that at that first show 5 years ago, Sam was supporting and I quickly became a huge fan of his music. 
7. Neverlnd Someone - my favourite local Oxford band, sad to miss these guys playing both the recent BBC Introducing show at O2 Academy and at the first Common People Festival this weekend which I'm sure they smashed! This is the latest in their monthly free tracks, and is avaialble to download here.
8. Robot Swans Pricks of the Trade - alongside Busted, these guys were my only other gig this month, running the door for their Tigmus album launch at Modern Art Oxford. Listening to them beforehand and at the show this is the track that stuck with me.
9. James Blake (ft. Bon Iver) I Need A Forest Fire - James Blake made a return this month, and while I struggled to choose which track of his to include, I couldn't really steer away from his collaboration with Bon Iver. Those beautiful vocals!
10. Jake Houlsby Carousel - recommendations always come from wonderful places and I was pointed towards this track by my secondary school Media Studies teacher - love it!
11. Fyfe Stronger - after seeing him on the Communion New Faces tour back at the end of 2014, I'm glad to hear that Fyfe is returning with an EP, of which this is the title track.
12. The Hoosiers Don't Say What Nobody Wants To Hear - another track from these guys, my favourite from their acoustic album, recorded in a church in London (video of this track here, and some more videos of tracks from that album here.) 
13. Busted Sleeping With The Light On - with the house lights down and everyone's phone torches on, and everyone singing to their heart's content, this track was pretty special at the show a couple of weeks ago!
14. Wheatus Teenage Dirtbag - this will probably make me lose my music cred faster than Busted, but it was pretty fun to hear this performed live as they're supporting Busted on the tour!
15. Sam Beeton Can You See The Light - album version of one of my favourite tracks of Sam's, taken from his record In The Yard which was released early last year. It was great to meet up with him and catch up after not seeing him for over two and a half years this month!
16. The Hoosiers Everything Goes Dark - there is no better way to finish off the playlist than with another Hoosiers track (especially as, being pretty nostalgic, what I've been listening to this month includes a LOT of their music.) EGD is certainly my favourite track from their debut record, and probably my absolute favourite. I adore this acoustic version filmed in Arizona which is on the DVD that accompanies the re-release of their second record.

LIVE: Busted at Motorpoint Arena Nottingham (18/5/16)

Now I might lose all my music cred (is that a thing, and do I really have it?) for this, but no regrets - last week, I went to see my childhood favourites, Busted, play at the arena in Nottingham. I know I'm certainly not alone in saying that they were my favourite band growing up, but I feel a special connection to the music... music plays such a big part in my life, and they were the first band I felt a real love and a passion for, so getting to see them live was pretty fantastic. 

It was particularly special because Charlie has rejoined them, and while as you'd expect there's a lot of scepticism about him joining just for the money, well firstly - who wouldn't?! It was a surprising U-turn but honestly who cares what his intentions are... the three of them seemed to be having a good time and so were the rest of us, yelling out the lyrics to classics such as Crashed The Wedding, What I Go To School For and Year 3000, after warming up with a Teenage Dirtbag singalong as America's Wheatus were supporting (alongside Emma Blackery.) I loved that they played their track from the Thunderbirds movie which went down really well - I remember going to see the movie in a preview at the cinema (my dad was a huge fan of the classic Thunderbirds) and us being the only two in the room. While they didn't play my favourite track, She Wants To Be Me, they did perform on a second stage and sang the beautiful stripped back version of Meet Me There which they recently recorded at Abbey Road Studios (below.) Somehow they managed to make that feel really intimate and emotional! 

The day was also pretty special as before the show we caught up with one of my favourite artists, Sam Beeton, over a coffee, after last seeing him over two and a half years ago! Glad to hear he's well and working on new music, which we'll have to carry on patiently awaiting! Pic or it didn't happen....

If you'd like to relive your childhood and catch a Busted show, there's still some of the tour left (the O2 at the weekend is highly tempting...) and they're also playing some dates over Summer, all of the info here. 

WATCH: Sam Beeton - 'Can You See The Lights'

Feeling a little nostalgic at the moment for Sam Beeton, one of my favourite artists who I first saw live just under five years ago but haven't been able to see for over two and half years now (been a few gigs but too far from uni). This video of Sam performing one of my favourite tracks of his, Can You See The Lights, a few years ago at Boardmasters is usually a must when I make playlists of acoustic videos to play in the background when doing some work, and I guess it's particularly relevant with the sunny weather lately! 

It's a bit of a trek for me but in the interests of you all having a great summer of music, check out the Boardmasters website here for info on the line-up and where to get tickets. It's in August and the line-up is looking pretty great, by which I admittedly mean that Jack Savoretti is on it, but there are tons of other great artists too! 

WATCH: Sam Beeton 'My Doll' for Burberry Acoustic

An oldie but a goodie and a brilliant start to the year... After discovering him as the support act the first time I saw The Hoosiers back in May 2011, Sam Beeton has been a constant favourite of mine ever since, and released one of my favourite albums of 2015 last year with his debut, In The Yard. It has been just over 2 years since I last saw Sam live, so I'm hoping that will change soon and that he'll be added to my 2016 gig calendar promptly... which currently contains King Charles, Richard Walters, Busted (!) and Adam Barnes.

This is Sam's track My Doll, filmed for Burberry Acoustic, which I can't quite believe was uploaded nearly 5 years ago!

LISTEN: Sam Beeton releases 'In The Yard'

It's a bit belated, but as I've just got back home for summer from university I've finally been able to listen to Sam Beeton's new record, In The Yard, on vinyl. Having listened to the album a lot already on my iPod, I can certainly say that this format heightens it, giving the tracks more depth and making me fall in love with the record even more. Almost four years ago exactly I went to see my favourite band, The Hoosiers, live for the first time, and Sam was the support act. After meeting him and shortly organising a gig with Sam at my school's summer fete, we've since had a couple of photoshoots and I've seen him play gigs in a variety of places across the UK, both headline and support slots - in short, the guy is a genius and quickly became a favourite of mine when I first heard his music four years ago.

Up until a year or so ago, Sam was releasing his music in an interesting, unique manner through his Record Club, a subscription service through which fans got a track or two a month on a signed CD direct to their door, as and when Sam had recorded them. This process was full of benefits for both Sam and his fans, allowing us to constantly get new music from Sam, who was able to receive instant feedback on the tracks, building up a relationship between Sam and his fans, and allowing for, in a sense, worldwide recognition, with subscribers on every continent. Sam has however recently returned to more traditional methods of releasing music (though it appears that the plan is to release more tracks through the record club in the future) with a full album, entitled In The Yard, featuring a mixture of new tracks and restyled Record Club tracks, which was released earlier this year. 

Source: www.sambeeton.com 

As a big fan of Sam's work, it might seem bias if I label it as one of the best records of the year so far, but don't just take my word for it, I've seen others likening album track Belong to the work of Paul Simon, a comparison which Sam would be pretty chuffed with, I'm sure. A highlight of the record for me is the quiet, stripped back song Moving Out, with its beautiful lyrics supported by stunning vocals and guitar play. Of the songs on the record this is one which I can most easily identify as Sam, as when playing live he usually performs solo with simply his acoustic guitar, though even this track is embellished with keys and strings, but the record is well produced and these don't drown out the main elements of the track. A few of the album's tracks have been previously released on issues of the Record Club, but have been revamped, and I'm particularly fond of the new version of Waiting Game with its beautiful cello solo. Can You See The Lights, one of my favourite Record Club releases, remains a particular favourite. Some of the other more punchy, upbeat tracks struck me less strongly at first, but are certainly growers, and I'm keen to hear the new material performed live (particularly as I haven't seen Sam live in over a year and a half!)

Overall, its a really brilliant record that was worth the wait, and that would appeal to fans of artists such as Paolo Nutini, Jack Savoretti, Ben Howard (you get the picture...) Below is the official video for the track Belong, and you can find links to buy Sam's record In The Yard here. 

WATCH: Sam Beeton 'Hundred Reasons' for Female First

Nottingham based Sam Beeton (sambeeton) plays a support set at Notts Glee Club tonight, and his debut record, In The Yard, is released digitally tomorrow (for physical releases, go here.) Check out this video of Sam performing a new track, Hundred Reasons, exclusively for Female First.

LISTEN: Sam Beeton - 'Belong'

The “incredible” Sam Beeton got the first radio play of his new track Belong on his local BBC Introducing earlier. Take a listen here at just after 12 minutes. His debut album, In The Yard, is out on the 23rd of this month digitally, and a week later on the 30th on CD and vinyl!

Love this shot I got of Sam on a photoshoot we had together a couple of years ago for a coursework project I was completing at the time. Hoping to get an opportunity to shoot with Sam again soon!

WATCH: Sam Beeton - 'The Yearling's Song'

Will probably be posting about this guy a lot in the lead up to his album release later this month.. but totally zero shame - love his music! Here's a new acoustic session from the super talented Sam Beeton, of the track The Yearling Song, taken form his upcoming record In The Yard! 

WATCH: Sam Beeton - 'Belong'

Check out the video for Sam Beeton's new track Belong, taken from his debut record In The Yard, which is set to be released at the end of March. It'll be released on CD, vinyl and digitally, preorders for all formats are here.

Sam is one of my favourite artists, who I've been lucky to see live quite a few times, can't recommend taking a listen to his back catalogue and pre-ordering the new record enough! Expect big things...

WATCH: Sam Beeton 'Jeckyll and the Man' for The Old Vinyl Factory

Absolutely love this video, of Sam Beeton performing his track Jeckyll and the Man. The big and fantastic news of this week is that Sam has finished work on his record, which is set to be released at some point in January 2015. It is called In The Yard and gigs should follow soon! As well as this Season 2 of Sam's unique Record Club (a subscription style music release service) will recommence soon.

Fun fact: this track was first performed on my sofa. Video here.

LISTEN: Sam Beeton demo

Bringing this video of Sam Beeton back as I completely adore this demo! Incredibly excited for new music to emerge and to see the fruits of Sam's labour, feels like he's been working hard on this record for a long time!

LISTEN: Sam Beeton - 'The Yearling's Song'

Listen to Sam Beeton's latest track The Yearling's Song - played on BBC's The Beat recently. The track is the latest release of Sam's unique Record Club, a subscription service through which fans get Sam's latest songs (on a physical CD) as and when they are written, recorded and produced. You can find out more about the Record Club here.

GIG NEWS: Sam Beeton at Glee Club Nottingham (November 2013)

Source: https://www.facebook.com/sambeeton

Sam Beeton headlines the Glee Club Nottingham on 2nd November. You can get tickets here.

Here's a video from Sam's last headline slot at the Glee Club: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCR-EskNaro

WATCH: Sam Beeton 'Good Natured Child' for The Old Vinyl Factory

Sam Beeton performing Good Natured Child for the Old Vinyl Factory Sessions (wonderful set of sessions.. check out more on their Youtube.)

WATCH: Sam Beeton - 'Can You See The Lights?'

Nice video of the absolutely wonderful Sam Beeton performing his track Can You See The Lights acoustically in Newquay at Boardmasters Festival.