Sam Roberts (born October 2, 1974) is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter who has released seven albums. His debut EP ''

The Inhuman Condition ''The Inhuman Condition'' is the first solo studio release by Canadian musician Sam Roberts, released in 2002. The tracks featured reworked versions of his demo "Brother Down" together with producer and percussionist Jordon Zadorozny. The EP pe ...

'', 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 Canadian supergroup

Anyway Gang Anyway Gang is a Canadian supergroup, consisting of Sam Roberts, Chris Murphy (from Sloan), Menno Versteeg (from Hollerado), and Dave Monks (from Tokyo Police Club). The group formed in the summer of 2018 and released their debut single, "Big ...

, 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 ''Artist of the Year'' is a television competition shown on the Sky Arts channel (formerly known as Artsworld and Sky Arts 1) which aims to find the best portrait and landscape painter every year. Overview Through several rounds of regional comp ...

twice (2004 and 2009) and Album of the Year once (2004).

Early life and Northstar

Born in Westmount, to South African immigrants who had arrived in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

three weeks earlier, Roberts grew up on Cedar Avenue in

Pointe-Claire Pointe-Claire (, ) is a Quebec local municipality within the Urban agglomeration of Montreal on the Island of Montreal in Canada. It is entirely developed, and land use includes residential, light manufacturing, and retail. As of the 2021 ce ...

, 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. and

John Abbott College John Abbott College (French: ''Collège John Abbott)'' is an English-language public college located in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec, Canada, near the western tip of the Island of Montreal. John Abbott College is one of eight English publi ...

, Ste. Anne de Bellevue and

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous ...

. 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", which formed the basis for the EP, ''

'' 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 Cadence Recordings, formerly MapleMusic, is a Canadian independent record label founded by Andy Maize, Jeff Maize, Mike Alkier, Evan Hu, Lorique Mindel and Grant Dexter in 1999 and based in Toronto, Ontario. Other investors include Gary Slaight ...

. 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" (released in late 2002) which were heavily promoted in the Canadian market. In August 2002, Roberts signed with

Universal Music Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

. In November 2002, Roberts won the

CASBY Award The CASBY Awards were a Canadian awards ceremony for independent and alternative music, presented annually by Toronto, Ontario radio station CFNY, currently branded as 102.1 The Edge. CASBY is an acronym for Canadian Artists Selected By You. The ...

for "Favourite New Artist". In 2003, he released his major label debut album, ''

We Were Born in a Flame ''We Were Born in a Flame'' is the debut full-length studio album by Canadian rock musician and singer/songwriter Sam Roberts. A re-recorded version of " Where Have All the Good People Gone?" was released as the album's first single in Canada and ...

'', with the singles " Where Have All the Good People Gone?" and "Hard Road" 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 The Juno Award for Artist of the Year is an annual award presented by the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) to the best individual musician in Canada. The five nominees in the category are decided through a combination of sale ...

Roberts’ second album, '' Chemical City'', was released in April 2006, with the first single "The Gate" topping as a No. 1 hit on Canadian radio. The second single, "

Bridge to Nowhere A bridge to nowhere is a bridge where one or both ends are broken, incomplete, or unconnected to any roads. If it is an overpass or an interchange, the term overpass to nowhere or interchange to nowhere may be used respectively. There are fi ...

", 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 World'' is the third full-length album from Canadian rock musician Sam Roberts. The album was first released in Canada on May 20, 2008, in the Netherlands on September 19, in the UK on October 13, and in the US on Februa ...

'', released in May 2008, debuted at No. 1 on the Canadian album chart, a first for Roberts. The lead single, "

Them Kids "Them Kids" is a song by Canadian musician Sam Roberts. It was released as the lead single from his third studio album, ''Love at the End of the World''. The song was released through iTunes on March 4, 2008. The song was a success in Canada, rea ...

", debuted on iTunes on March 4, 2008. Roberts again won the

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 A collider is a type of particle accelerator which brings two opposing particle beams together such that the particles collide. Colliders may either be ring accelerators or linear accelerators. Colliders are used as a research tool in particl ...

'', 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 "I Feel You" is a song by English electronic music band Depeche Mode, released on 15 February 1993 as their 27th UK single and the first single from their eighth studio album, ''Songs of Faith and Devotion'' (1993). The song peaked at number e ...

" 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 Paper Bag Records is a Canadian independent record label, artist-management company, and music publisher founded in 2002 and based in Toronto. History The label was created to focus on the Toronto-area indie rock music scene. Initial signing ...

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 The Juno Award for "Rock Album of the Year" has been awarded since 1991, as recognition each year for the best rock album in Canada. The award has been called a number of other names, including the "Best Hard Rock/Metal Album" and "Best Rock Album ...

, losing to The Tragically Hip's ''

Man Machine Poem ''Man Machine Poem'' is the thirteenth studio album by Canadian rock band the Tragically Hip, and the last album to be released before the death of lead singer Gord Downie, as well as their last to be composed of new material. It was released on J ...

''. The band's seventh studio album, ''All of Us'', was released worldwide on October 16, 2020 on Secret Weapon / Known Accomplice.

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 Chet Doxas is a saxophonist, clarinetist and composer based in Brooklyn, NY. His work has been nominated for numerous Juno, Grammy and Academy Awards. Doxas has released a number of albums as a leader and has received accolades for his work as a per ...

(tenor saxophone)

Discography

As Sam Roberts

*''

'' (2003) *'' Chemical City'' (2006) *''

'' (2008)

As Sam Roberts Band

*''

'' (2011) *'' Lo-Fantasy'' (2014) *''TerraForm'' (2016) *''All of Us'' (2020)

With Anyway Gang

*''Anyway Gang'' (2019)

Awards and nominations

Juno Awards

The

Juno Awards The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of ...

is a Canadian awards ceremony presented annually by the

Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) is a non-profit organization responsible for promoting Canadian music and artists. It administers the Juno Awards, the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and the MusiCounts music education cha ...

. , - , rowspan="2", 2003 , , rowspan="2", " Brother Down" , , Single of the Year , , , - , New Artist of the Year , , , - , rowspan="3", 2004 , , rowspan="3", ''

'' , , Album of the Year , , , - , Rock Album of the Year , , , - ,

, , , - , rowspan="2", 2007 , , "

" , , Video of the Year , , , - , '' Chemical City'' , , Rock Album of the Year , , , - , rowspan="3", 2009 , , rowspan="2", ''

'' , ,

, , , - , Rock Album of the Year , , , - , " Detroit '67" , , Video of the Year , , , - , rowspan="3", 2012 , , rowspan="2", "

" , , Video of the Year , , , - ,

Group of the Year The Juno Award for Group of the Year has been awarded annually since 1970 in recognition of the best musical group or band in Canada. It is presented by the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS). The five nominees in the category ...

, , , - , ''

'' , , Rock Album of the Year , , , - , 2017 , , ''TerraForm'' , , Rock Album of the Year , , , - , 2021, , ''All Of Us'' , , Rock Album of the Year , ,

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. , - , rowspan="4", 2003 , , rowspan="3", "Brother Down" , , Best VideoFACT , , , - , Best Pop Video , , , - , Best Independent Video , , , - , Sam Roberts , , People's Choice – Favourite Canadian Artist , , , - , rowspan="6", 2004 , , rowspan="6", "Hard Road" , , Best Director , , , - , Best Cinematography , , , - , Best Post-Production , , , - , Best Video , , , - , Best Pop Video , , , - , People's Choice – Favourite Canadian Artist , , , - , rowspan="2", 2006 , , rowspan="2", "The Gate" , , Best

MuchMoreMusic M3 was a Canadian English language Category A cable and satellite specialty channel owned by Bell Media. Established in 1998 as MuchMoreMusic, the network began as a spin-off of the youth-oriented MuchMusic, targeting an older demographic wi ...

Award , , , - , People's Choice – Favourite Canadian Artist , , , - , rowspan="2", 2008 , , rowspan="2", "

" , , Best Director , , , - , Best Post-Production , ,

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 Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a viral respiratory disease of zoonotic origin caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV or SARS-CoV-1), the first identified strain of the SARS coronavirus species, ''sev ...

(SARS). *June 12, 2003:

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

's (NHL)

NHL Awards The National Hockey League presents numerous annual awards and trophies to recognize its teams and players. The oldest, and most recognizable, is the Stanley Cup. First awarded in 1893, the Stanley Cup is awarded to the NHL's playoff champion. ...

ceremony main performer *November 16, 2003:

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

's (CFL) 91st Grey Cup halftime show in Regina, Saskatchewan. *July 2, 2005:

Live 8 Live 8 was a string of benefit concerts that took place on 2 July 2005, in the G8 states and in South Africa. They were timed to precede the G8 conference and summit held at the Gleneagles Hotel in Auchterarder, Scotland, from 6–8 July 200 ...

concert in Barrie, Ontario. *January 1, 2008:

AMP Energy NHL Winter Classic The 2008 NHL Winter Classic (known via corporate sponsorship as the AMP Energy NHL Winter Classic) was an NHL outdoor games, outdoor ice hockey game played in the National Hockey League (NHL) on January 1, 2008, at Ralph Wilson Stadium near Bu ...

, outdoor ice hockey game in Buffalo, New York. *August 2, 2008: Opened for

The Eagles The Eagles are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1971. With five number-one singles and six number-one albums, six Grammy Awards and five American Music Awards, the Eagles were one of the most successful musical acts of the 1970s ...

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 Sidney Patrick Crosby (born August 7, 1987) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre and captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL). Nicknamed "Sid the Kid" and dubbed " The Next One", he was selected first o ...

and his Stanley Cup win. *February 20, 2010: Performed at

2010 Olympics )'' , nations = 82 , athletes = 2,626 , events = 86 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = February 12, 2010 , closing = February 28, 2010 , opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean , cauldron = Catriona Le May DoanNancy GreeneWayne Gretz ...

in Vancouver. *December 31, 2010: Performed free concert in

Brampton Brampton ( or ) is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Brampton is a city in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a lower-tier municipality within Peel Region. The city has a population of 656,480 as of the 2021 Census, making it ...

, Ontario for New Year's Eve celebrations. *June 25, 2011: Performed at Bobcaygeon Musicfest in

Bobcaygeon Bobcaygeon is a community on the Trent–Severn Waterway in the City of Kawartha Lakes, east-central Ontario, Canada. Bobcaygeon was incorporated as a village in 1876, and became known as the "Hub of the Kawarthas". Its recorded name ''bob- ...

. *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 Catherine, Princess of Wales, (born Catherine Elizabeth Middleton; 9 January 1982) is a member of the British royal family. She is married to William, Prince of Wales, heir apparent to the British throne, making Catherine the likely next ...

. *December 31, 2013: Performed at

Niagara Falls Niagara Falls () is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the border between the province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York in the United States. The largest of the three is Horseshoe Fall ...

' New Year's concert alongside

Serena Ryder Serena most commonly refers to: * Serena Williams (born 1981), professional tennis player Serena may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Serena (genre), 13th-century Occitan poetic genre * ''Serena'' (1962 film), a British crime t ...

and Demi Lovato.

References

External links

Sam Roberts Band
*
Sam Roberts Band collection
at the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

's live music archive {{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Sam 1974 births Anglophone Quebec people Canadian rock singers Canadian singer-songwriters Singers from Montreal Juno Award for Artist of the Year winners Living people McGill University alumni Canadian people of South African descent People from Westmount, Quebec Musicians from Quebec MapleMusic Recordings artists Juno Award for Album of the Year winners Juno Award for Rock Album of the Year winners 21st-century Canadian male singers Canadian male singer-songwriters