Sam Newton has written lots of stories and he wants to sing all of them to you on his upcoming Violet Road Australian Tour.

A prolific songwriter, Sam has been writing and performing for ten years, working within time tested folk and traditional country and blues foundations reminiscent of Paul Kelly, Townes Van Zandt and Neil Young. A staple in the Australian Americana Alt-Country scene, Sam’s expressive melodies and vivid lyrics tell stories of life and death, crime and punishment, love and loss.

Born in suburban Sydney to a music-loving family, Sam knew that he was going to be a musician from the very beginning. He pleaded with his parents for guitar lessons at the commencement of High School and wrote his first song 3 weeks later. Now at age 28, Newton has toured nationally 4 times and put out 2 acclaimed releases. 

Sam’s 2014 crowd funded debut album ‘Set In Stone’ was described by Chris Familton as “…an accomplished collection of beautifully played and recorded songs that show Newton’s wistful way with folk and sometimes country melodies.”

Fast forward to 2016, and Sam and Blue Mountains based producer Chris Gillespie have just finished recording his second album ‘Violet Road.' Drawing from personal experience, the 10 original tracks explore family, love, heartbreak, emotional turmoil and disconnection through narrative trope with a raw sincerity that is rarely seen in contemporary music. Sam is incredibly proud of what he and Chris have achieved, saying "This is the most honest thing that I’ve ever released."

‘Violet Road’ was recently awarded as a finalist in the ‘Best Album’ category of the Australian Roots Music Awards (ARMA).

Sam’s show at Smiths Alternative will be with his full 4-piece band and will feature 2106 Queensland Music Award Winner Dana Hassall in support.

Applause for ‘Set In Stone’:

“…an accomplished collection of beautifully played and recorded songs that shows Newton’s wistful way with folk and sometimes country melodies.” Chris Familton, Post To Wire 

“It’s an album richly veined with detail.” - Gareth Hipwell, Country Update (Dec 06, 2014) 

“Sam Newton’s music harkens back to a time when stories were sung around campfires, to a small circle of listeners who paid attention and could see the singer’s emotions written on his face as well as hear them in his voice.” 
         - Sophie Hamley, Jolene: The Country Music Blog

 “A wonderful intensity in his arrangements and delivery... It is that ability to construct complex underlying patterns in his songs which is his real strength.” – Paul Smith, The Sydney Morning Herald