Sam Roberts

Biography

Sam Roberts (born October 2, 1974) is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter who has released seven
albums. His debut EP The Inhuman Condition, reached the Canadian charts in 2002. He and his bandmates have released three albums as Sam Roberts and four albums as Sam Roberts Band. He is also a member of the Canadian group Anyway Gang, who released their debut self-titled album in 2019. Roberts has been nominated, together with his band, for fifteen Juno Awards, winning six, including Artist of the Year twice (2004 and 2009) and Album of the Year once (2004). From 1996 to 2016, Roberts was among the top 60 best-selling Canadian artists in Canada.

Early life and Northstar

Born in Westmount, to South African immigrants who had arrived in Montreal three weeks earlier, Roberts grew up on Cedar Avenue in Pointe-Claire, where his family moved to when he was five years old. Roberts is an alumnus of St. Edmund Elementary School, Beaconsfield; Loyola High School, N.D.G.; John Abbott College, Ste. Anne de Bellevue; and McGill University. He holds a BA in English from McGill University, graduating in 1998. Roberts' first band was William in 1993, that changed into Northstar in 1998. As William they put out a single, "Piranha EP" on Northern Assembly Records in 1996, while as Northstar they released a self-titled independent EP in 1998, but broke up in 1999.

As "Sam Roberts" (2002–2010)

After disbanding Northstar, Roberts recorded a twelve track demo, "Brother Down×Brother Down2004 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 5 tracks1Brother Down4:242This Is How I Live2:403Taj Mahal4:304Rarefied3:405Brother Down4:40", which formed the basis for the EP, The Inhuman Condition released in 2002. Recorded with Jordon Zadorozny, Roberts "recorded a song a day". Roberts signed with artist manager Dave Spencer and began to perform live. With the assistance of Linda Bush at Universal Music Publishing Canada, he signed a publishing contract with UMPG and a record contract with MapleMusic Recordings. MapleMusic released the six track EP culled from the demo with Roberts noting that "it is not something I had intended to be my first real foray into the music world but I couldn't turn my back on such a chance". It included two breakthrough singles, "Brother Down" (released in mid-2002) and "Don't Walk Away Eileen×Don't Walk Away Eileen2003 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Don't Walk Away Eileen3:12" (released in late 2002) which were heavily promoted in the Canadian market.
In August 2002, Roberts signed with Universal Music. In November 2002, Roberts won the CASBY Award for "Favourite New Artist". In 2003, he released his major label debut album, We Were Born in a Flame×We Were Born in a Flame2 June 2003 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 14 tracks1Hard Road4:062Where Have All the Good People Gone?4:223Brother Down4:244Higher Learning4:065Dead End3:386Taj Mahal4:307Every Part of Me3:458The Canadian Dream4:589Rarefied3:3910On the Run2:1911Don't Walk Away Eileen3:1212No Sleep4:0213This Wreck of a Life4:5414Paranoia5:49, with the singles "Where Have All the Good People Gone?×Where Have All The Good People Gone?2003 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1Where Have All the Good People Gone3:562Brother Down (acoustic remix)3:01" and "Hard Road×Hard Road17 June 2003 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Hard Road4:06" garnering success in the Canadian market. The album achieved double platinum sales status in Canada and won two Juno Awards in 2004: Album of the Year and Rock Album of the Year, with Roberts winning the Juno award for Artist of the Year.

Roberts’ second album, Chemical City×Chemical City11 April 2006 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1The Gate5:582Bridge to Nowhere3:093With a Bullet4:014Mind Flood8:095Uprising Down Under4:356Mystified, Heavy4:517An American Draft Dodger in Thunder Bay3:148The Bootleg Saint4:099The Resistance5:1410A Stone Would Cry Out4:37, was released in April 2006, with the first single "The Gate×The Gate7 February 2006 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1The Gate (edited version)4:15" topping as a No. 1 hit on Canadian radio. The second single, "Bridge to Nowhere", won the Juno Award for Video of the Year in 2007 and the album achieved platinum sales status.
Roberts' third album, Love at the End of the World×Love at the End of the World20 May 2008 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Love at the End of the World2:372Stripmall Religion4:023Oh Maria3:474Lions of the Kalahari4:115Fixed to Ruin3:466Them Kids3:587Words & Fire3:538Sundance4:179Up Sister3:3910End of the Empire4:1811The Pilgrim5:3112Waking the Dead6:2613Detroit '674:04, released in May 2008, debuted at No. 1 on the Canadian album chart, a first for Roberts. The lead single, "Them Kids×Them Kids4 March 2008 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Them Kids3:58", debuted on iTunes on March 4, 2008. Roberts again won the Juno award for Artist of the Year and the album took home Rock Album of the Year and reached gold sales status.

As Sam Roberts Band (2011–present)

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.
On November 20, 2013, Roberts announced the release of next album, Lo-Fantasy, which was released by Paper Bag Records on February 11, 2014. Sam Roberts' Band released the Counting the Days EP on April 18, 2015. In 2015, the band collaborated with Toronto's Spearhead Brewery to release the "Sam Roberts Band Session Ale".
Their sixth studio album, Terraform, was released October 28, 2016. On September 12, 2016, a North-American tour was announced to promote their new album. Terraform was later nominated for a 2017 Juno Award for Rock Album of the Year, losing to The Tragically Hip's Man Machine Poem.
The band's seventh studio album, All of Us, was released worldwide on October 16, 2020, on Secret Weapon / Known Accomplice.
On October 20, 2023, Sam Roberts Band released their new album The Adventures Of Ben Blank, featuring the tracks "Picture Of Love" and "I Dream Of You".

Sam Roberts Band members

The members of Sam Roberts Band as of 2020 are:

Sam Roberts (lead vocals, guitar)
Dave Nugent (lead guitar)
Eric Fares (keyboard, guitar)
James Hall (bass)
Josh Trager (drums)
Past Members:

Corey Zadorozny (drums)
Chet Doxas (tenor saxophone)

As Sam Roberts

The Inhuman Condition (2002)
We Were Born in a Flame (2003)
Chemical City (2006)
Love at the End of the World (2008)

As Sam Roberts Band

Collider (2011)
Lo-Fantasy (2014)
TerraForm (2016)
All of Us (2020)
The Adventures Of Ben Blank (2023)

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 was an annual awards ceremony presented by the Canadian music video channel MuchMusic. Roberts has received five awards from fourteen nominations.

Notable performances

July 30, 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 (SARS).
June 12, 2003: National Hockey League's (NHL) NHL Awards ceremony main performer
November 16, 2003: Canadian Football League's (CFL) 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.
December 31, 2013: Performed at Niagara Falls' New Year's concert alongside Serena Ryder and Demi Lovato.