by Runs June 30-July 4th.
Born and raised in Cape Breton, Dave Sampson has been singing melodies and writing music since his early teens. His style is authentic and his stage presence can easily be traced back to his Cape Breton roots with his high-energy shows and passion for performing. Currently finishing up his last year at St. Francis Xavier University, Dave has been juggling music and school for the past four years. However, being in University did not slow him down one bit from taking advantage of the wide variety of playing opportunities to the vast cross section of people attending St. F.X. Dave has developed and gained much of his exposure to date through playing high profile shows in conjunction with St. F.X. University.
He released his first independent EP titled “Short But Sweet” in 2010. He was well received at the East Coast Music Awards performing on the Discovery Stage showcase in 2010 and also performing in 2011 at the ECMA members lounge. Dave was able to wrestle his way into the music scene on George St., St. John’s, NL for a number of gigs. He returned to Cape Breton in August 2011 in response to an invitation though Music Nova Scotia and SOCAN, to attend a week-long song-writing camp in Cape Breton, with Grammy Award winner Gordie Sampson and a handful of songwriters form Nova Scotia.
Over the past three years Dave has had the opportunity to share the stage with some of Atlantic Canada’s most talented musicians including Joel Plaskett, Jerry Fisher, Matt Mays, David Myles, Carleton Stone and Tim Chaisson to name a few. He has also co-written songs with artists such as Carleton Stone, Mo Kenny, Dylan Guthro and Steve MacDougall.
Dave Sampson writes heart-on-your-sleeve folk/pop songs, delivered with a captivating and authentic voice that could blow down a brick house. His knack for crafting simple ear-worms and his high-energy shows have been winning him fans across Atlantic Canada for the past three years.
In 2013-2014, Dave recorded his anticipated debut album “No Pressure, No Diamonds” with producers/collaborators Carleton Stone, Gordie Sampson and Dylan Guthro. Due for release in April, 2014, this album features a collection of well-crafted catchy folk-pop songs written over the past three years with a handful of some of Atlantic Canada’s finest songwriters. Writers featured on “No Pressure, No Diamonds” include Mo Kenney, Gordie Sampson,Carleton Stone and Dylan Guthro to name a few.
Dave has also been hand-picked as one of Nova Scotia’s most promising young songwriters to take part in the prestigious, invitation-only Gordie Sampson Song camp for the past two years. Through this opportunity, he has been fortunate enough to collaborate with the province’s finest writers: Gordie Sampson, Steven MacDougall, Mo Kenney, Carleton Stone, Molly Thomason, among others.
Recently with the up-coming release of his debut album, Dave has been selected to showcase in the Breakout Stage mentorship program at the East Coast Music Awards 2014.
