   Les
Sampou has been in demand as a live performer for two decades,
playing clubs and concert halls and such prestigious festivals as Montreal
Jazz Festival, Kerrville Folk Festival (where she won the coveted New
Folk Award out of 700 contestants), Philadelphia Folk Festival, and Falcon
Ridge to name a few. She has given workshops at Berklee School of Music
and appeared on the top syndicated radio programs such as Acoustic Cafe,
World Cafe, and NPR. Sampou has released four albums: two on her own
label, MoNando Music, and two on Rounder Records, all grabbing the attention
of DJs and press people nationwide who gave her unanimous praise. Her
second album, "Fall from Grace", topped the Gavin Americana
charts nationwide. Boston radio station WUMB awarded her "Best New
Artist of the Year."
Sampou has easy command of a full-range of American music styles and it's easy to see why. Her influences range from old timey music by such artists as Elizabeth Cotton and Jimmie Rodgers, to sixties folk music from Joan Baez and Pete Seeger; R&B and Motown tunes by the likes of Percy Sledge, Sam Cooke and Wilson Pickett, and a wide variety of country blues covers by musicians including Memphis Minnie, Robert Johnson, Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson and many more. Some of Sampou's more modern influences include Bonnie Raitt, Emmylou Harris, and Lowell George of Little Feat. Early on Sampou was taught by her mentor and friend Paul Rishell (W.C. Handy Award winner) a collection of classic country blues songs which she performs to this day. "Sampou is bursting with powerhouse country rock, fluid acoustic folk, and blues tracks to rival Rory Block." (FolkRoots, UK) Sampou takes this Americana history and weaves her own songwriting style through it all. "Discerning music fans hearing Les Sampou for the first time might wonder why her albums aren't selling in the millions. A standing-room-only crowd certainly went home entranced by Sampou; few of today's top songwriters produce more compelling or distinctive music than Sampou." (The Patriot Ledger) "Sampou is a chanteuse with a voice capable of ripping off rafter-raising blues tunes and then turning even grand concert halls into house concerts with her intimate balladry." (Boston Globe). After taking time off from performing to start a new family, Les Sampou has begun a new chapter in her own musical history: The Les Sampou Trio. Joined by Dan Deleo on upright bass and Mark Cunningham on guitars and vocals, Les has created a roots trio with a stellar new repertoire. It includes old and new original material along with traditional and modern selections to create an exceptional evening of music audiences will talk about long after the lights go down. Guitarist, singer, songwriter, Mark Cunningham, has spent nearly four decades performing in a variety of bands and in countless recording sessions. Born and raised outside Boston, this multi-genre, multi-instrumentalist is equally comfortable in an acoustic folk/blues setting as well as twang/billy or rock and roll. An accomplished vocalist, he has worked with a number of Grammy, Emmy and Oscar winning producers and artists. After living fifteen years in Los Angeles he has relocated to the Boston area. Bassist Dan DeLeo moved to Boston from New Orleans in 1999 and quickly picked up work playing live and recording with local bands. He toured regionally with Irish rockers Los Diablos and more recently played and recorded with roots rockers The Splendid Nobodies. Originally from Pearl River, New York, DeLeo credits his musical upbringing to the 12 years he spent living in New Orleans, where he absorbed the diverse sounds and rhythms of the region's varied musical offerings, from blues to Cajun, zydeco and swamp pop, to country. In the Big Easy, he played with local country rockers the Mudpies and roots rockers, Lonesome Bones. In addition to bass, DeLeo also plays guitar and drums.
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