<a href="http://www.hiddenshoal.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Joe_Sampson_Porch_Glenn_Ross.jpg"><img class="alignleft wp-image-14378 size-medium" src="http://www.hiddenshoal.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Joe_Sampson_Porch_Glenn_Ross-300x200.jpg" alt="Joe Sampson | Photo by Glenn Ross" width="300" height="200" /></a>We're excited to announce the signing of the wonderful <a title="Joe Sampson" href="http://www.hiddenshoal.com/project/joe-sampson/">Joe Sampson</a> to the Hidden Shoal family of artists. Sampson is the champion of the musical understatement, each song exuding a gently mesmerising beauty. His music evokes the comfortably sad acoustic tones of Nick Drake or Leonard Cohen, ornamented with often darkly humorous lyrics, intoned in a soft yet road-worn baritone.

Since his childhood days singing in his family’s barbershop quartet, up through his years collaborating with celebrated musicians like Nathaniel Rateliff and Esme Patterson, Joe Sampson has steadily sharpened his sound and style, becoming one of Denver’s most celebrated songwriters. After being named Westword’s Songwriter of the Year in 2008, the alt weekly described his work as “combining the emotional weight of acoustic breakup albums like Beck’s <i>Sea Change</i> or Ryan Adams’ <i>Heartbreaker</i> with an aw-fuck-it humour.”

Joe's sublime new EP <em>Songs of Delay</em> will see release through Hidden Shoal on the 21st of July with a single dropping in June. Joe Sampson's music also joins the <a title="Licensing" href="http://www.hiddenshoal.com/licensing/" target="_blank">Hidden Shoal licensing catalogue</a> and is available for all licensing and publishing needs. Check out his artist profile <a title="Joe Sampson" href="http://www.hiddenshoal.com/project/joe-sampson/">here</a>.