Sam Gleaves began studying old time music as a teenager in his home community of Wytheville, Virginia. Some of Appalachia’s finest musicians mentored Sam, including Jim Lloyd and Sheila Kay Adams. Sam moved to Kentucky in 2010 to enroll at Berea College.  Sam performed for four years with the Berea College Bluegrass Ensemble, directed by Al White, including the group’s tours in Ireland and Japan. After graduating with a degree in Folklore, Sam began performing and teaching in a variety of settings, including public schools, colleges and universities, prisons, festivals, and music camps.  In 2015, Sam collaborated with producer Cathy Fink and released a debut record of his original songs, titled Ain’t We Brothers, which has been featured by The Guardian and National Public Radio. Sam has released a total of five recordings, including collaborations with Tyler Hughes, Cathy Fink, Marcy Marxer, Deborah Payne, Si Kahn, and Saro Lynch-Thomason. In 2016, Sam worked with acclaimed author Silas House to co-write the folk opera IN THESE FIELDS, commissioned by the Southern Foodways Alliance. That same year, Sam toured in the U.K. supporting folk music icon Peggy Seeger. In 2018, Sam was the featured musician for the Jean Ritchie Lecture at the National University of Ireland in Galway and artist-in-residence at Michigan State University’s Residential College for Arts and Humanities. Sam served for two years as Traditional Arts Director at Hindman Settlement School in Hindman, Kentucky.