If for some reason my preferred publicity photo doesn't float your boat, you can find a few other options immediately below. All the links will download 300dpi, high-resolution images.

All publicity photos are by Steve Black.

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"[Sam Bayer] will dazzle you with his refreshing mix of storytelling, original tunes and his unique stage presence."

- Paul Duffy, host of the Front Street Coffeehouse open mike

"Sam Bayer is a local treasure - writing songs with the humor to keep you lauging and realism to keep you thinking."

- Club Passim Calendar, July/August 2006

"One of the best songwriters in the state, if not the region."

- Steve Rapson, guitarist, producer, former host of the Java Jo's open mike in Milton, author of The Art of the Solo Performer (otherwise known as "the best $20 you'll ever spend")

"There's an element element of tragedy in every funny moment in Sam Bayer's songs, whether it is a level of frustration, anger, discomfort, inadequacy, defiance, lack of care or excess of care. That element is what makes funny memorable - unadulterated, unidealized, real. Sam Bayer's songs have the power to grip my heart and demand my attention."

- Susan Irene Master, singer, poet, former host of The Folkal Point coffeehouse at Springstep

"Sam Bayer is a fully-fleshed musical experience on two very long legs! His bass voice rumbles with mellifluous ease through each tune, whether it's a political spoof or a love song. What I find MOST engaging, however, is his laid-back charisma -- I've witnessed folks, who were initially fooled by his easy-going energy, get snapped up and mesmerized by his lyrics, melodies, and engaging stage presence. Whenever I see him at a space, I find myself grinning as soon as I do, because I know I'm in for a great musical treat that night. Consider yourself blessed whenever you have the opportunity to experience his music!"

- Julie Woods, musician, painter, author, founder of Fans With Cans

"To say that his songs are intelligent and often very funny falls short of the mark. Sam Bayer's songs drag us, kicking and screaming, into the 'Tune Town' that is America in the twenty-first century. And he does it with compelling music and language that is as vivid and picturesque as Noel Coward's best work."

- John Boehmer, songwriter and poet

My bio page is available as a PDF document. Here's the text version (but please look at the PDF - I worked so hard...):

Imagine a world...

Where housewives win the Nobel Prize in physics, poker-playing children gamble over their bedtimes, and metaphorical elephants pirouette in the den.

Where disappointed minor leaguers, frustrated therapists, and small-time crooks tell you their side of the story, four and a half minutes at a time.

That's the world of Sam Bayer: literate, resonant, exuberant - a man who will literally dance his characters across the stage. A composer, songwriter and performer for more than 45 years, Sam grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, the musical child of Joplin, Chopin and good old Midwest rock'n'roll. His latest studio CD, Bad Apple, brings 11 gems from his universe to yours.

Albums

• Bad Apple, 11-song studio CD, 2025
• The Great Indoors, 11-song studio CD, 2016
• Takin' It To The Emack's, 7-song live EP, 2009
• I'm Not a Modest Man, 9-song studio CD, 2008
• Thirds, 9-song live EP, 2007
• Do You Believe, 5-song live EP, 2005
• Life is Like a River, 3-CD set, 2003
• Live at Club Passim, 3-song EP, 2000

Sam's "Millennium Song" has been covered by Dan Hart on The Life of Dan; in 2004, his ska-tinged ode to childhood, "Putting Sophy to Bed", appeared on Boston's Best Singer-Songwriter Showcase V, alongside such Boston notables as Deb Pasternak, Julie Dougherty and Thea Hopkins.

Gigs

• Linden Tree Coffeehouse, opening for Joe Jencks, June 2024
• The Burren, with Rob Siegel and Mark Stepakoff, August 2018
• Upton House Concerts, CD release of "The Great Indoors", July 2016
• Upton House Concerts, with Kim Jennings opening, October 2010
• Steeple Coffeehouse, Southborough, opening for Blackstone Valley Bluegrass, April 2007
• Club Passim, Cambridge, split bill with Mark Stepakoff, July 2006
• Amazing Things Arts Center, opening for John Forster, May 2006
• Green Rooster Coffeehouse, opening for Valerie and Walter Crockett and the Oxymorons, February 2006
• House concert with JP Jones, January 2006
• Mozaic Room, opening for Jack Hardy, November 2005
• "How To Raise Your Own Voice", First Night event at the Hynes Auditorium, December 2004
• Club Passim, Cambridge, with Dan Hart, Stanley Matis and Katherine Pritchard, June 2004
• House concert with John Schindler, April 2004

Since 2017, Sam has also been one of the hosts of the Somerville Songwriter Sessions, a mostly-monthly songwriter series presenting contemporary folk singer/songwriters in concert in the intimate Rooted Cafe at the Somerville Armory.