US folk musician Sam Amidon has announced Willing Brother Knowing, his ninth album, for February 26, 2027. Big Thief drummer James Krivchenia handled the album’s production. Its opening single Innisfree adapts a poem by W. B. Yeats, with Irish pipes and piano accompanying Amidon and a video directed by Allyn Quigley.
US folk musician Sam Amidon has announced his ninth album, Willing Brother Knowing, and released its first single, Innisfree. River Lea Records will issue the album on February 26, 2027. James Krivchenia, drummer with the band Big Thief, handled recording and production. The single sets a poem by Irish poet W. B. Yeats to music, accompanied by a video directed by Allyn Quigley.[1], [2]
Isaac Alderson plays uilleann pipes, the Irish bagpipe supplied with air by bellows, while Thomas Bartlett contributes piano. Bartlett also performs under the name Doveman. Across the album, Irish and Appalachian folk material is played by a rock band with drums, electric guitar and synthesisers. Its songs include the hymns China and Dying Californian, alongside the fiddle tunes A Trip to Athlone / The Lonesome Jig.[1]
Amidon has repeatedly performed in Ireland, including recent concerts in Dún Laoghaire with musician Beth Orton, his partner. His previous album was Salt River, also released by River Lea. Beyond his own records, he served as music adviser and singing coach for The History of Sound, the film starring Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor. In 2024 he appeared in Nobodaddy, a production by the Irish dance company Teaċ Daṁsa.[1]
