Luddstock Festival 2012 - Interview with Sam Gray

Sam Gray and I in the rain

With a list of questions, a huge umbrella and my best pair of wellies, I was ready for my night at a truly British festival in the rain in the garden of Reynold's farm. When I arrived the marquees were all set up and the stage looked extremely scenic with a forest backdrop and decorative lights scattered around the field. I was eager to meet Sam Gray, the singer/song writer whom I had nothing but praise for in my recent 'Artist of The Week' article and as I first introduced myself it was clear he was not just a talented singer, but also a very nice guy. The interview (as you can see above) went brilliantly, despite the loud background music from the blues band playing at the time. Off camera, Sam told me that he was worried people would not get up to dance during his set and as the clouds got darker and the wind picked up, the fear that people will stay in their marquee and not support him boiled up inside me too. Nevertheless, as Sam graced the stage singing his hits such as 'Senorita', 'All of My Life' and 'Brighter Day', people braved the rain to watch him sing. Sam also did a couple of covers which was great as everyone could sing along to well-loved tunes such as 'I Wish' by Stevie Wonder and 'Brown Eyed Girl' by Van Morrison. When the beloved 'any requests?' question was asked, my family could not help but request 'Superstition' by Stevie Wonder (my all-time favourite song). I thought that it would be really difficult to suddenly be able to play and sing a random song suggested by the audience, but I was pleasantly surprised when Sam and his band performed the song wonderfully. The audience were screaming 'more' every time Sam showed any sign of finishing, and I was so pleased that people were genuinely having a fantastic time listening to him. Also, the bass player for Sam was a true showman, rocking out with his instrument and smiling his head off during the whole set. Both the bass player and drummer were very impressive and never missed a beat, even with the surprise covers. Sam finished with his new single 'This Girl' which was a great way to end the set and definitely left the crowd wanting more. The rest of the night went 'swimmingly', the final band was a 'Ska' band who were great to dance to and the whole place was buzzing. It was a really good night for the excellent cause of Milestone School and a lot of money was raised, I am looking forward to next year's festival which is the 29th of June 2013!