*Excerpt from article Introducing… Old Baby Mackerel in the British Bluegrass Music Association magazine
Sam Garrard has been teaching banjo in person and online and playing in UK Bluegrass group Old Baby Mackerel since 2016.
As well as teaching online, in person in Bristol, UK and running banjo workshops, Sam spends a lot of time gigging in the UK, Europe and further afield. Old Baby Mackerel were on the front cover of the British Bluegrass News magazine in September 2024 and the history of the band was covered in a 5 page article.
Old Baby Mackerel kicked off their career in 2016 and haven’t looked back since. For a band with almost ten years history, Old Baby Mackerel’s story is perhaps even more meandering than you might imagine. From Bristol to London, England to Ireland, the UK to Thailand, Austria and the Netherlands, they’ve certainly been around the block. In fact, the band actually spent a large amount of their early days outside of the UK’s bluegrass music scene and only recently did their solidified lineup, following years of a more rotated, collective feel, lead to their appearance at more UK bluegrass events than ever before.
When founding band member Sam Garrard began what was at the time the only bluegrass session in Bristol, he took the chance to meet and play with new musicians from far and wide, with the same passion for the music that he loved. It was this that sparked an interest to create a more consistent project together, birthing the band very organically. Beginning with members with a very diverse array of influences, over time the band has crystallised into the more traditionally-driven, defined and solidified Old Baby Mackerel sound and lineup you can find today, including the four permanent members Abbey Thomas, Rory Francis, Sadie Capps and Sam Garrard.
Sam grew up in a musical family and has owned a guitar for as long as he can remember. Initially however, he rebelled, learning drums with Rock band Kasabian’s drummer Ian Matthews for several years before later returning to the guitar. He played in a few amateur rock, blues and folk bands, and also the Bristol Flamenco School, all before the banjo entered his life. One day whilst shopping for a copper kettle in an antique shop, Sam fell in love with an old banjo and it was there his passion for the instrument began. He soon joined festival folk band Ushti Baba, touring the UK and Europe. Whilst playing folk, klezmer and Romani music Sam decided to study the instrument properly and fell even more deeply in love with bluegrass music. He studied for a while with revered English banjo player Leon Hunt and, after leaving Ushti Baba in 2016, began Old Baby Mackerel. Sam has spent the last few years teaching and running workshops in Bristol and is currently writing a book on banjo methodology.
