Press Kit08
    Sam Pacetti

    The Guitar Wizardof North Florida

    Fingerstyle guitar · St. Augustine, Florida

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    The Artist

    A fingerstyle voice from the oldest city

    Sam Pacetti blends the heritage of American folk guitar with a modern songwriter's soul, holding technical brilliance in balance with raw emotionality.

    Sam Pacetti playing acoustic guitar under blue stage light
    St. Augustine, FloridaThree decades of fingerstyle guitar, carried from stage to stage.

    Sam Pacetti is one who brings it all together: a fingerstyle guitar wizard, a deft songwriter capable of haunting depth and wry humor inside a single song, and an impassioned vocalist who melds head-spinning guitar pyrotechnics with raw emotion in one breathtaking package. His most important mentor was legendary Florida musician Gamble Rogers, who took him under his wing and instilled a deep respect for storytelling and the craft of performance.

    Tradition and innovation balance neatly in his music, the whole infused by a relentless intelligence intent on musical and philosophical synthesis. Martin Simpson, Richard Thompson, Joni Mitchell and Merle Travis are touchstones, and while the American primitive school of guitar wizardry runs all through the work, so does an earthy sensuality closer to a red dirt blues master than to any musical academician.

    "Although the woods are full of young guitar virtuosos, few have developed the style, technique and artistic wisdom of Sam Pacetti."
    Dirty Linen
    The Folk Process
    1. Age 13

      Discovers Chet Atkins and Merle Travis in North Florida, a place hardly known as a hotbed of folk tradition, and starts chasing the thumb-and-fingers language of the American masters.

    2. The Mentor

      Gamble Rogers, the legendary picker and raconteur of St. Augustine, takes the young Pacetti under his wing. They meet and play weekly for a year: a season of astonishing musical and emotional growth.

    3. The Folk Process

      Rogers dies at Flagler Beach trying to save a drowning tourist. What he left behind was the folk process itself: music and oral tradition handed from teacher to student, and Sam still counts him as his most influential mentor.

    4. 1997

      Solitary Travel arrives on Waterbug Records, cut largely live to tape in single takes, and the critical raves follow it out of Florida and across the Atlantic.

    Lineage
    Gamble RogersChet AtkinsMerle TravisMartin SimpsonRichard ThompsonJoni Mitchell
    Sam Pacetti performing live with his acoustic guitar

    The Songwriter

    Intimate narratives carrying deep emotion and wry humor, telling universal experience in a singular voice.

    Sam Pacetti performing live with his acoustic guitar

    The Vocalist

    An impassioned, sometimes ecstatic delivery: tender whispers to full-throated crescendos.

    Sam Pacetti performing live with his acoustic guitar

    The Artistry

    Raw emotional power, guitar wizardry, and modern folk authenticity in transformative live performance.

    Discography

    Music

    Stream Sam's recordings wherever you listen, or press play right here.

    Solitary Travel album cover

    Solitary Travel

    2006

    A deeply personal journey through fingerstyle compositions.

    Origins album cover

    Origins

    2009

    Exploring the roots of the American folk guitar tradition.

    Union album cover

    Union

    2012

    A collaborative work with Gabriele Valla.

    On Tour

    Live Shows

    From intimate listening rooms to festival stages across Florida.

    12Sep2026

    The Coffeehouse

    St. Augustine, FL8:00 PM
    3Oct2026

    Riverside Arts Market

    Jacksonville, FL7:30 PM
    14Nov2026

    Folk Music Hall

    Gainesville, FL8:00 PM

    Recent Performances

    The Listening RoomSt. Augustine, FLJuly 18, 2026
    Acoustic SessionsPonte Vedra Beach, FLJune 6, 2026
    The Folk FestivalTallahassee, FLApril 25, 2026
    Store

    Merch

    Records, prints, and printed music made in small runs, in keeping with how the music is made. The shop opens soon.

    Sigil Tee in Black, Front & back
    Coming soon

    Sigil Tee

    Soft cotton · gold sigil front & back

    Soft-washed cotton tee with the small arch sigil at the chest and the full Guitar Wizard crest in antique gold across the back.

    Black
    $32
    Sigil Hoodie in Black, Front & back
    Coming soon

    Sigil Hoodie

    Heavyweight fleece · gold back print

    Brushed-fleece pullover with a chest sigil on the front and the full crest printed large across the back. Built for cool coastal nights.

    Black
    $68
    Rope Trucker Cap in Maroon, Front
    Coming soon

    Rope Trucker Cap

    Structured crown · mesh back · gold embroidery

    Richardson trucker with a breathable mesh back and embroidered front mark, in oxblood or grey and black with a tonal soundhole crest.

    Maroon
    $30
    Insulated Tumbler in Black, 20 oz
    Coming soon

    Insulated Tumbler

    Stainless steel · laser-etched crest

    Double-wall stainless tumbler with a slide lid, finished in a matte powder coat and etched with the Guitar Wizard crest in gold.

    Black
    $34
    Signed Limited Poster in Artist Series, 24 x 36
    Signed · Limited

    Signed Limited Poster

    Artist series print · hand-signed & numbered

    Limited Edition Artist Series print of Sam in performance, framed in gold linework on oxblood stock. Each copy is hand-signed and numbered.

    $45

    The first run is in production now. Want to be told when the shop opens, or ask about reserving a signed poster?

    Press & Media

    In Print & On Air

    Word spread the way true innovation always does: through the grassroots, on non-commercial radio, from recordings passed friend to friend, at folk festivals and listening rooms across the country.

    "Solitary Travel heralds the arrival of one of the most talented instrumentalists and composers to appear in acoustic music in a month of Sundays."
    Dirty Linen
    "This guy is very good, indeed."
    Folk Roots (UK)
    "If you closed your eyes on 'Dueling Banjos,' you'd never know that this was one young man on one guitar. And that's the simple stuff."
    Terry Lagerstedt, Fairfield CT Weekly
    "Pacetti's debut album is filled with nothing less than fingerstyle wizardry, accomplished for the most part live to tape and in one take. Trust me, this is no easy feat."
    Fairfield CT Weekly, Falcon Ridge Folk Festival

    Radio & Broadcast

    • Non-commercial and specialty show play
    • Live in-studio sessions
    • Public radio folk features

    Press Materials

    • Artist biography
    • High-resolution photos
    • Stage plot & tech rider

    Stages & Venues

    • Falcon Ridge and Will McLean festivals
    • Listening rooms across the country
    • Concert halls and arts markets
    Booking & Inquiries

    Get In Touch

    For booking, collaborations, press requests, or just to say hello.

    Booking

    Sam performs solo and in collaboration at listening rooms, festivals, house concerts, private events and workshops throughout Florida and beyond.

    sampacettimusic@gmail.com

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