Sam Friend is a recording artist, composer, vocalist, guitarist and banjo player known for his musical versatility and knowledge of the jazz, funk, blues, folk and rock canons. Equally versed in a variety of musical traditions, you can find Sam playing in New Orleans with his own band, or doing gigs as a sideman with James Andrews, Glen David Andrews, Treme Brass Band, Soul Brass Band, Red Hot Brass Band, Blue Tang People, and Steve Walker, among others. Sam also travels each year to play traditional Irish music festivals in Ireland and has been active in hosting Irish sessions in New Orleans. He co-founded the New Orleans Swamp Donkeys in 2012 and toured internationally with the band for several years.

In September of 2026, Sam Friend released his third full length album of original music. Funded by a Threadheads Cultural Foundation Grant and released as 45 rpm Vinyl, this album features James Andrews and Roger Lewis (from the Dirty Dozen Brass Band) as special guests. Sam’s catalog of earlier original releases includes “Coming Home” in 2020 and “Twin”  in 2016, and an EP entitled “Sam Friend and the Hoodoo Sauce,” (2012). Sam also recorded several albums with the New Orleans Swamp Donkeys, including “Donkey Business,” “Swamp Donkey,” (2014), “Slightly Concussed,” and “A Fine Romance” (2017). He has written music for television and film, including the pilot episode of NCIS: New Orleans. 

Segments on his songwriting have been featured on NPR and various jazz stations. His original music has been described as an eclectic mix of styles rooted firmly in the New Orleans musical traditions. 

Coming Home is now available on all major platforms

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“Friend’s voice has the warmth of James Taylor but also the endearingly awkward earnestness of Ben Folds and more than a little of Dr. John’s natural jazz-blues drawl”

— Robert Fontenot, Offbeat Magazine

Music and Lyrics © Sam Friend Music 2020