From USA Today to Esquire Magazine to AOL Spinner, it seems everyone is talking about the Sam Roberts Band – and for good reason. The Quebec-based act is one of the bestselling independent artists in Canada, and it’s heading next to Sasquatch! Music Festival in the States. Read on for an artist bio and mini Q&A with Sam Roberts himself.

As a solo artist in 2000, Roberts’ career saw his then-independent albums Brother Down and The Inhuman Condition achieve major success on the Canadian charts. The rhythmic rock ‘n roller formed the band in 2003 after signing to major label Universal Music.

SRB’s latest album, Collider, came out on May 10, and the band’s currently headlining a North American tour to promote it. American Songwriter called Collider an “entire album showcasing well-constructed rock songs,” and added that “Roberts delivers his vocals with the sort of strut you want from your rock stars … air guitar is necessary and head-bobbing is unavoidable.”

Here’s the Sam Roberts Band’s single, “The Last Crusade”:



The Last Crusade by Rounder Records

Sam Roberts answered a brief Q&A email for me – here’s what he had to say about his band’s upcoming Sasquatch! appearance.

Monica Christoffels: What are some things you’d like all your fans, old and new, to know about you?
Sam Roberts: We are a band from Montreal, Canada. We have been together since the high school and are miraculously still friends. We have just released our fourth full-length album named Collider and are hitting the road this summer to deliver it to YOU!

MC: Have you played at Sasquatch! before? If so, when, how was it like, etc.? If not, what are your feelings coming into the Festival?
SR: We’ve played at Sasquatch twice before, well almost. The first time was in 2003 which was great. We were blown away by the gorge and the sheer number of people who had trekked out to be a part of the music in this amazing place. It was our first big American festival and our set went flying by, probably because we were nervous and played everything twice as fast. Our second time we were less fortunate…A huge storm rolled through and started dumping rain on our friends the Constantines who were on right before us on the same stage. As they finished their set, the rain turned to hail which in turned tore through the tarp covering the soundboard. The whole system shorted as we were due to get up there and well, that’s all she wrote. So this trip to Sasquatch is all about revenge/redemption and hopefully our re-entry in Mother Nature’s good graces.

MC: What can fans expect from your performance?
SR: We’re a five-piece rock ‘n roll outfit and we draw our inspiration somewhere between Hawkwind and the Clash. We’ve added a saxophone played named Matt Bauder to the line-up to blur the lines even further…

MC: What else is coming up for your band?
SR: Shows and more shows. We’ll be touring it until we’ve squeezed every last drop out of her.

MC: Anything else you’d like to add?
SR: Hope you enjoy this one-of-a-kind musical gathering at the Gorge!

The Sam Roberts Band will be playing at 4 p.m. on Sunday, May 29, on the Bigfoot stage. Follow the band’s updates on Facebook, Twitter and Youtube.