Uncle SAMS Band: (l-r) Max, Andrew, Sebastian, Savannah
Who are Uncle SAMS Band?
For several years, one of the highlights of the Sunday program at the Delaware Valley Bluegrass Festival has been the performance by the youngsters in the Festival’s Kids’ Academy, many of whom are students at the Cab Calloway School of the Arts in Wilmington, DE.
At Cab, science teacher Steve Field–also a classical violinist and a bluegrass fiddler–started CabGrass, an opportunity for the students to sign up for an activity period in which they learn about playing bluegrass music. In December, Steve brought four CabGrass students in to WVUD to record a Music Room episode.
Mandorichard tried to get Sebastian to smile, to the delight of his bandmates.
The students have formed their own bluegrass band, Uncle SAMS Band, the name formed from the students’ first initials: Savannah Klumpp, banjo, guitar, and vocals; Andrew Vogts, fiddle, whistling, and vocals; Max Huhn, mandolin, fiddle, guitar, and vocals; and Sebastian Roat, guitar and vocals.
Steve told us about the CabGrass program, and we heard Uncle SAMS Band play four selections for us. The students also told us about their aspirations, their musical tastes, and their success at October’s Sea Witch Festival (Lewes, DE)–and just plain had a lot of fun in the studio. Listen to the interview linked below to meet these four charming young musicians!
Listen to the Interview
Uncle SAMS Band
Recorded Dec. 19, 2015, originally aired Jan. 19, 2016, Host: Mandorichard.
28:39
26MB
The Music
| Artist | Song | Source |
| Uncle SAMS Band | Long Journey Home | WVUD Session, Dec. 19, 2015 |
| Uncle SAMS Band | Big Rock Candy Mountain | WVUD Session, Dec. 19, 2015 |
| Uncle SAMS Band | Jerusalem Ridge | WVUD Session, Dec. 19, 2015 |
| Uncle SAMS Band | God Leads His Dear Children Along | WVUD Session, Dec. 19, 2015 |
CabGrass and Kid’s Academy
Check out the YouTube videos below to see some of the students from Uncle SAMS Band and CabGrass perform with the Kid’s Academy at the Delaware Valley Bluegrass Festival:
Photos courtesy Tina Klumpp