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 Award The Juno Awards (stylized as JUNOS), or simply known as the Junos, are awards presented by Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to recognize outstanding achievements in Canada's mu ...

s, 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 artist 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 Westmount () is a city on the Island of Montreal, in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It is an enclave of the city of Montreal, with a population of 19,658 as of the 2021 Canadian census. Westmount is home to schools, an arena, a pool, a public li ...

, to South African immigrants who had arrived in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

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 cen ...

, where his family moved to when he was five years old. Roberts is an alumnus of St. Edmund Elementary School,

Beaconsfield Beaconsfield ( ) is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, northwest of central London and southeast of Aylesbury. Three other towns are within : Gerrards Cross, Amersham and High Wycombe. The ...

; Loyola High School, N.D.G.;

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 publ ...

Ste. Anne de Bellevue Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue () is an on-island suburb located at the western tip of the Island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It is the second oldest community in Montreal's West Island, having been founded as a parish in 1703. The old ...

; and

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

. 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, '' 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 Cadence Recordings, formerly MapleMusic Recordings, 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 ...

. 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 Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum ...

. 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'', 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

s 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. Origins Th ...

", won the

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", 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 that brings two opposing particle beams together such that the particles collide. Compared to other particle accelerators in which the moving particles collide with a stationary matter target, collid ...

'', 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 by Mute Records as the first single from their eighth studio album, ''Songs of Faith and Devotion'' (1993). The song was written by Martin Gore a ...

" 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 publishing company founded in 2002 and based in Toronto. History The label was created to focus on the Toronto-area indie rock music scene. Initial si ...

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 Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three t ...

, losing to The Tragically Hip's ''

Man Machine Poem ''Man Machine Poem'' is the thirteenth and final studio album by Canadian rock band the Tragically Hip, released on June 17, 2016 on Universal Music Canada.

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, New York. 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 ...

(tenor saxophone)

Discography

As Sam Roberts

*'' We Were Born in a Flame'' (2003) *'' Chemical City'' (2006) *''

'' (2008)

As Sam Roberts Band

*''

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

With Anyway Gang

*''Anyway Gang'' (2019) *''Still Anyways'' (2022)

Awards and nominations

Juno Awards

The

Juno Awards The Juno Awards (stylized as JUNOS), or simply known as the Junos, are awards presented by the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to recognize outstanding achievements in Canada's music industry. The Grammy Awards are the United S ...

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 is famous for its Juno Awards, which recognize achievements in the music industry of popular song ...

. , - , rowspan="2", 2003 , , rowspan="2", " Brother Down" , , Single of the Year , , , - , New Artist of the Year , , , - , rowspan="3", 2004 , , rowspan="3", '' We Were Born in a Flame'' , , 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", " Them Kids" , , Video of the Year , , , - , Group of the Year , , , - , ''

'' , , 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 The iHeartRadio Much Music Video Awards were an annual awards show broadcast annually on Much (TV channel), Much from 1990 to 2018, and Fuse (TV channel), Fuse from 2010 to 2013 that honoured the year's best music videos. Originally debuting in ...

was an annual awards ceremony presented by the Canadian music video channel

MuchMusic Much is a Canadian English language discretionary specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. through its Bell Media subsidiary that airs programming aimed at teenagers and young adults. It is headquartered at 299 Queen Street West in what was o ...

. 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 CTV Life Channel is a Canadian English language discretionary specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. through its Bell Media subsidiary. The channel primarily broadcasts factual and reality programming on lifestyle topics such as cooking, home impr ...

Award , , , - , People's Choice – Favourite Canadian Artist , , , - , rowspan="2", 2008 , , rowspan="2", " Them Kids" , , Best Director , , , - , Best Post-Production , ,

Notable performances

*July 30, 2003: Opening performer at

Molson Canadian Rocks for Toronto Molson Canadian Rocks for Toronto, also known as SARSStock, was a benefit rock concert that was held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on July 30, 2003. An estimated 450,000 to 500,000 people attended the concert, making it is the largest outdoor tick ...

, 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 virus SARS-CoV-1, the first identified strain of the SARS-related coronavirus. The first known cases occurred in November 2002, and the sy ...

(SARS). *June 12, 2003:

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

's (NHL) NHL Awards ceremony main performer *November 16, 2003:

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

's (CFL) 91st

Grey Cup The Grey Cup () is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested between the winners ...

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 South Africa. They were timed to precede the G8 conference and summit held at the Gleneagles Hotel in Auchterarder, Scotland, from 6–8 July 2005 ...

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 B ...

, 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, 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 Moncton (; ) is the most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of New Brunswick. Situated in the Petitcodiac River Valley, Moncton lies at the geographic centre of the The Maritimes, Maritime Provinces. Th ...

, 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 (ice hockey), centre and Captain (ice hockey), captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL). Nicknamed "Sid the Kid" and dubb ...

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

2010 Olympics The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXI Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Vancouver 2010 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held from February 12 to 28, 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with ...

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

Brampton Brampton is a city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario, and the regional seat of the Regional Municipality of Peel. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a List of municipalities in Ontario#L ...

, 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 Kawartha Lakes, 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 reco ...

. *July 1, 2011: Performed a free concert in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

Canada Day Canada Day, formerly known as Dominion Day, is the national day of Canada. A Public holidays in Canada, federal statutory holiday, it celebrates the anniversary of Canadian Confederation which occurred on July 1, 1867, with the passing of the B ...

for

Prince William, Duke of Cambridge William, Prince of Wales (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982), is the heir apparent to the British throne. He is the elder son of King Charles III and Diana, Princess of Wales. William was born during the reign of his pat ...

, 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. Born in Reading, Berkshire, Readi ...

. *December 31, 2013: Performed at

Niagara Falls Niagara Falls is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the Canada–United States border, border between the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York (s ...

' New Year's concert alongside

Serena Ryder Serena Lauren Ryder (born December 8, 1982) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. Born in Toronto, she grew up in Millbrook, Ontario. Ryder first gained national recognition with her ballad "Weak in the Knees" in 2007 and has released eight studio ...

and

Demi Lovato Demetria Devonne "Demi" Lovato ( ; born August 20, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. After appearing on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004), she starred in the Disney Channel short series ...

References

External links

Sam Roberts Band
*
Sam Roberts Band collection
at the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

's live music archive {{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Sam 1974 births Anglophone Quebec people Canadian rock singers 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 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 21st-century Canadian singer-songwriters