Samara Jade Gisondo, known professionally as Samara Jade, is a genre-bending folk troubadour, multi-instrumentalist, and musical seamstress who threads together earthy grooves, soul-soaked vocals, and thought-provoking lyrics into a sound truly her own. A natural-born “mugician,” Samara’s first instrument was a set of pots and pans as a toddler, and she’s been making joyful noise ever since through voice, electric and acoustic guitars, mandola, banjo, piano, and whatever else she can get her nimble hands on.

 

Drawing inspiration from jazz, soul, Appalachian and Celtic roots, and the wild whispers of nature, her music is heartfelt medicine that between play and depth. Among her musical superpowers are an uncanny knack for finding just the right song for just the right moment, an instinct for reading the energy of a room, and an ever-ready musical vocabulary that can turn almost any gathering into a shared experience of connection. Samara is also an accomplished lead guitarist and mandolin player, bringing a rare combination of technical prowess and tasteful improvisation to the stage - from shredding intricate lead lines to providing rhythmic accompaniment on alternate-tuned acoustic guitars.

 

Born in the Hudson Valley of New York State, and shaped by the mountains and rivers of the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina and the Olympic Peninsula of Washington State, Samara has spent 15 years as a grassroots touring musician, carrying her songs across the country and weaving and widening the webs of community. She now calls the mountains near Asheville, North Carolina home.

 

Offstage, she carries songs and stories into deeper communal spaces—leading community song circles, nature-based singing/songwriting retreats, and rites of passage journeys that guide people back to their voices, their bodies, and the land. She also identifies as a “Song Midwife,” guiding others through soulful processes of creating their own heart’s song.

 

Whether performing onstage, leading a community song circle, or guiding a nature-based retreat, Samara creates shared experiences that are both grounding and elevating. Singing for personal and collective healing and liberation, her work goes beyond entertainment—it's soul-fertilizing, heart-healing, culture-composting, and community-rooting work.