Sam Kelly & The Lost Boys announce new album and tour dates

Sam Kelly

Ready to unveil their first album since 2017, “one of the best bands on the scene” (according to Seth Lakeman) have flexed their studio muscle again. UK folk heavyweights Sam Kelly & The Lost Boys have a brand new twelve track project to release, The Wishing Tree landing on August 27th via the mighty Pure Records.

Renowned for their carefully crafted and emotionally delivered pop-driven folk music, Jamie Francis (banjo), Graham Coe (cello), Toby Shaer (whistles/fiddle), Archie Moss (melodeon), Evan Carson (drums) and group leader, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer and BBC Radio 2 Folk award-winning Sam Kelly have been an explosive force since busting onto the scene in 2016. Their inimitable sound has won the hearts and ears of some of the biggest names in the business and The Wishing Tree is no exception.

From the uplifting album opener ‘Bluebird,’ to the heartfelt ‘Guiding Light,’ to the controlled chaos of ‘Nature’s Law,’ to the playful title track ‘The Wishing Tree,’ Sam Kelly and his Lost Boys have the unique ability to blend traditional folk music with catchy, universal song-writing structures. Their new album is folk for the masses, and they’d love everything single one of you to get involved:

“This album is a big step forward for us as a band. It has been 4 years since our last record, and this one is made up of mainly original material, whereas our last album was a majority of traditional music. These songs were born out of the struggle that everyone has faced over the past year, but carry messages of hope, love and the joy in small things. Making this record has been vital for our sanity over the past year, and we are so proud to bring these songs out into the world.”

After receiving a big thumbs up from BBC Radio 2’s Mark Radcliffe, they’ve also shared the stage with the likes of Ed Sheeran, Seth Lakeman and Kate Rusby and are well known for their humoured, exciting and downright fun live shows. In fact, they’ll be launching The Wishing Tree with an accompanying UK tour at the following dates in November, with support from Katherine Priddy.

Tour Dates

6th – Cambridge Junction
7th – London Nell’s
8th – Manchester Night & Day
9th – Norwich Arts Centre
10th – Bristol Thekla
11th – Nottingham Bodega
12th – Penzance Acorn Theatre
13th – Hailsham Pavilion

Artists’ website: http://www.samkelly.org/

‘Guiding Light’ – official video:


We all give our spare time to run folking.com. Our aim has always been to keep folking a free service for our visitors, artists, PR agencies and tour promoters. If you wish help out and donate something (running costs currently funded by Paul Miles), please click the PayPal link below to send us a small one off payment or a monthly contribution.