Confessional and grounded with a playful honesty and empathy for the human experience, Samantha Whates’ understatedly forceful voice will find a safe space deep inside your soul and hold that hug for as long as you need her to…

Scottish singer-songwriter and Rough Trade Records recording artist Samantha Whates is a hugely respected figure on the UK folk & roots scene. Her beautifully crafted, poetic songs have an acute ear for the pain and beauty of the human experience. Retaining a strong affinity with her Scottish roots, cultivating a sound that is thoroughly contemporary, rooted somewhere in tradition, yet uniquely her own. Her self taught, not really folky, finger picking style is structurally bold, incorporating pure vocal performance amid raw field recordings often willing to push at conventions. 

With an enduring passion for collaboration, counter melody and close harmony, you’re as likely to find Whates singing backing vocals on worldwide arena tours for Noel Gallagher or soundtracking esoteric animation and Balearic tunes as you are recording a duet whilst sitting in a canoe with award winning Danish singer-songwriter Ida Wenøe.

“I love her voice” Dolly Parton

“The most beautiful album…” Bob Harris, BBC Radio 2

Her debut album Dark Nights Make For Brighter Days enjoyed both critical acclaim and extensive radio play (BBC 6 Music, BBC Radio 2, KCRW, Resonance FM). Samantha’s last solo album Waiting Rooms, recorded entirely on location in various waiting rooms around the UK, is out now on Wonderful Sound.

“Cannot be praised highly enough” KLOF

8/10 “ Sublimely crafted concept folk” Louder than War

Samantha recently signed to Rough Trade Records with her band PicaPica; they released an EP ‘Spring & Shade’ in late 2018 and followed with their debut LP ‘Together & Apart’ summer 2020.

4**** mojo

“Bands attempt this for years, PicaPica nail it on their first try” Spill Magazine

2025 will be another exciting one for Whates as she returns to Denmark for a tour with Ida Wenoe to promote their 2024 joint album Loopy & Esther. Samantha is also looking forward to releasing Flower Days this spring with another longtime collaborator M G Boulter. 

M G Boulter and Samantha Whates have been collaborating since 2014. They are set to release their third collaborative project in the spring of 2025. Flower Days is a collection of alt-folk and experimental recordings, inspired by flowers and their cultural significance throughout history. Recorded at the historic Cambo Country House and Estate in Fife in the winter of 2024, by producer Douglas Whates, Flower Days blends the duo’s well established songwriting style with the Estate’s inspirational surroundings.

This year will also see Samantha finish writing for her third solo album. Recently signing with a new live agent bookings are already coming in for tour Spring 2026… 

For fans of : Tape machines, things that are yellow, daffodils, the sea, crying, laughing, Joni Mitchell, Sufjan Stevens, solo cinema trips, Ivor Cutler, boiled eggs and soldiers…