Sam Pacetti performing live — fingerstyle guitar
Guitarist · Singer-Songwriter · Live Performer

The Guitar Wizard
of North Florida

A fingerstyle guitar wizard. A deft songwriter capable of haunting depth and wry humor in the space of one song. An impassioned vocalist and mesmerizing live performer seamlessly melding head-spinning pyrotechnics and raw emotion.

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Sam Pacetti performing live in St. Augustine
"This guy is very good, indeed." — Folk Roots

About Sam

Where Tradition Meets Innovation

Sam Pacetti represents a culmination of the best of the American and British traditions. Growing up in North Florida, he discovered the music of Chet Atkins and Merle Travis at thirteen — and shortly after found his greatest mentor in Gamble Rogers, the legendary picker and raconteur from St. Augustine who took the young Pacetti under his wing.

Their weekly sessions lasted a year, until Rogers tragically died saving a drowning tourist at Flagler Beach. The brief yet profound relationship instilled in Pacetti the importance of the folk process — the passing of music and oral tradition from teacher to student.

Martin Simpson, Richard Thompson, Joni Mitchell and Merle Travis are touchstones to Pacetti. While there are strong elements of the American primitive school throughout his work, a powerful raw emotionality — earthy and sensual, more Greg Brown than musical academician — runs beneath every note.

"Although the woods are full of young guitar virtuosos, few have developed the style, technique and artistic wisdom of Sam Pacetti." — Dirty Linen
Full Biography
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Discography

Music

Studio recordings, live performances and collaborative works spanning three decades of acoustic mastery.

Solitary Travel — Sam Pacetti

Solitary Travel

1997 · Waterbug Records

The debut that garnered critical raves and earned Best New Artist at Falcon Ridge Folk Festival.

Union — Sam Pacetti & Gabriel Valla

Union

With Gabriel Valla

A stunning collaborative record with partner Gabriel Valla — one song after another impossible to stop listening to.

Origins — Sam Pacetti

Origins

Full Catalog

Explore the complete catalog of studio albums, EPs and live recordings.

Full Discography
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Press

What They're Saying

This guy is very good, indeed.

— Folk Roots (UK)

Although the woods are full of young guitar virtuosos, few have developed the style, technique and artistic wisdom of Sam Pacetti. Solitary Travel heralds the arrival of one of the most talented instrumentalists and composers to appear in acoustic music in a month of Sundays.

— Dirty Linen

One song after another, I could not concentrate on my computer screen.

— Jim Blum, Folk Alley

All Press

Watch Live

See Sam Play

There is no substitute for experiencing Sam Pacetti's guitar work first-hand. Watch live performances and recordings from three decades of acoustic mastery.

All Videos & Music
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Bookings & Inquiries

Bring Sam to Your Venue

Whether you run a folk festival, listening room or concert hall — Sam Pacetti delivers a breathtaking live experience every time.

Get in Touch