Sam Roberts is a Juno Award-winning Canadian rock singer-songwriter, whose 2001 debut release,
The Inhuman Condition, became one of the bestselling independent releases in Quebec and Canadian
music history.
Life and career
Born in Westmount to South African immigrants who had arrived to Montreal four weeks prior,
Roberts grew up on Cedar Avenue in Pointe-Claire, since he was five years old.
Roberts is an alumnus of St. Edmund Elementary School, Beaconsfield, Loyola High School,
N.D.G. and John Abbott College, Ste.
Anne de Bellevue and McGill University.
Roberts first band was William in 1993, then changed to Northstar in 1996.
Although prominent in the local indie-rock scene, the band never got a major record contract
and broke up in 1999.
Roberts' bandmate George Donoso went on with The Dears leaving Roberts to struggle for
several years.
Disbanding Northstar, Roberts recorded his home-made demo, Brother Down.
In 2001, Roberts recorded and independently released the EP, The Inhuman Condition.
The EP was generally unpromoted but following a record contract with MapleMusic Recordings,
Roberts two breakthrough singles, "Brother Down", released in mid-2002, followed by,
"Don't Walk Away Eileen" in late-2002 was heavily promoted exclusively in the Canadian
market.
Getting signed to Universal Music got the release of album debut, We Were Born in a
Flame, in June 2003, with singles of "Where Have All the Good People Gone?" and "Hard
Road", garnering success in the Canadian market.
Robert's second album, Chemical City, was released in April 2006, with first single
"The Gate", topping #1 on Canadian radio.
Second single "Bridge to Nowhere", won the Juno Award for Video of the Year in 2007.
"With a Bullet", third single released on Canadian radio, received little critical acclaim
with no video released.
Roberts' third album, Love at the End of the World, released in May 2008, debuted at #1
on the Canadian album chart, a first for Roberts.
The lead single, "Them Kids", debuted on iTunes on March 4, 2008.
Sam Roberts is fluent in English, French, and Spanish.
Roberts married his high school sweetheart Jen in 2004 and they have three children.
For the past several years, Sam Roberts has played annually at the Kee to Bala in Bala,
ON, in the Muskoka region.
Roberts released his fourth studio album, Collider, on May 10, 2011.
It is the first album under the moniker "Sam Roberts Band" instead of "Sam Roberts".
The first single, "I Feel You" was officially released to Canadian radio on February 28,
with an iTunes Canada release of March 8.
They have confirmed via their Twitter account that work has begun on their next album.
On November 20, 2013, Roberts announced the release of next album, Lo-Fantasy, which was
released by Paper Bag Records on February 11, 2014.
Band members The members of the Sam Roberts Band as of
2011 are: Sam Roberts
Dave Nugent Eric Fares
James Hall Josh Trager
Chet Doxas Discography
Brother Down We Were Born in a Flame
Chemical City Love at the End of the World
Collider Lo-Fantasy
Awards and nominations Juno Awards
The Juno Awards is a Canadian awards ceremony presented annually by the Canadian Academy
of Recording Arts and Sciences.
MuchMusic Video Awards The MuchMusic Video Awards is an annual awards
ceremony presented by the Canadian music video channel MuchMusic.
Roberts has received five awards from fourteen nominations.
Notable performances July 31, 2003: Opening performer at Molson
Canadian Rocks for Toronto, otherwise referred to as SARStock, promoted to mitigate the economic
downturn in Toronto following a limited outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome.
June 12, 2003: National Hockey League's NHL Awards ceremony main performer
November 16, 2003: Canadian Football League's 91st Grey Cup halftime show in Regina, Saskatchewan.
July 2, 2005: Live 8 concert in Barrie, Ontario.
January 1, 2008: AMP Energy NHL Winter Classic, outdoor ice hockey game in Buffalo, New York.
August 2, 2008: Opened for The Eagles in Moncton, New Brunswick
March 29, 2009: Performed at the 2009 Juno Awards
July 18,19 2009: Performed at Folk on the Rocks, in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories.
August 7, 2009: Performed a free concert at Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, in honour of Sidney
Crosby and his Stanley Cup win.
February 20, 2010: Performed at 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.
December 31, 2010: Performed free concert in Brampton, Ontario for New Year's Eve celebrations.
June 25, 2011: Performed at Bobcaygeon Musicfest in Bobcaygeon.
July 1, 2011: Performed a free concert in Ottawa on Canada Day for Prince William, Duke
of Cambridge, and his wife Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge.
September 9, 2011: Performed at University of Toronto's FROSH week.
September 20, 2011: Performed at Mohawk College's FROSH week.
December 31, 2013: Performed at Niagara Falls' New Year's concert alongside Serena Ryder
and Demi Lovato.
See also
Canadian rock Music of Canada
References
External links Sam Roberts Band
Sam Roberts on Myspace Sam Roberts at the Internet Movie Database
Sam Roberts Band collection at the Internet Archive's live music archive