Sammy Volkov at Sunset Boogie

Sunset Boogie: A Live Country Music Series

Free music every Thursday following The Common Streetcar Cask Party

With his debut, Sammy Volkov crafted startlingly original music while taking inspiration from classic 1960s pop. Today he is drawing more on his contemporaries.

While taking his first leap into recording with a 2018 independent EP, the so-called Edmonton artist went to New York City and Los Angeles to follow his other longstanding dream of becoming an actor in 2010. Sammy graduated SUNY Purchase’s prestigious Acting BFA Conservatory. His New York life primarily consisted of production-office work for HBO Max, Showcase, and Warner Brothers TV series while writing songs and performing them at Brooklyn open mics.

In late 2019, Sammy contacted producer Harry Gregg and engineer Scott Franchuk back at Edmonton’s Riverdale recorders and said, “Let’s make an album.” What followed was an emotional two-year journey, from initial sessions in 2020, to finishing the album at the height of the pandemic, to finally sharing “Be Alright!” In December 2022. Sammy self-funded a successful professional campaign with three singles, accompanying videos, and full album release culminating with a celebration attended by many friends and Edmonton arts community leaders. “Be Alright!” reached the #1 spot on CJSR, was the first album to debut at #1 on the CKUA Top 30 Chart, and within a month of its release, reached #38 on CKUA’s Top 200 Album Chart for 2022. The album debuted at #19 on Earshot’s National Top 50 Chart.

Since creating his debut, Sammy has written and recorded a collaborative album with Dana Wylie, opened twice for Mariel Buckley, headlined at festivals, and completed a succesful Western-Canadian album-support tour with Jack Garton and Kitty & the Rooster. He recently performed at the Edmonton, Canmore, & Calgary International Folk Festivals and will be appearing at Folk Alliance 2024 in Kansas City. His sophomore album is in pre-production and Sammy was awarded full funding from the Edmonton Arts Council to complete the project. He was awarded 2nd place for Penguin Eggs / Roots Music Canada Critics’ 2023 “New Discovery of the Year.”