Sam Hooper is a captivating American musician from Cleveland, Ohio. His alluring blend of blues, rock, jazz and funk has thrilled audiences in China, Switzerland, Finland, Japan and the USA. His soulful vocals have been compared to Otis Redding, while critics have likened his blistering guitar playing to Jimi Hendrix and Carlos Santana.
WINNER of the 2018 Northeast Ohio Blues Association, (NEOBA) BLUES CHALLENGE, Sam Hooper Group were Semifinalists in the The International Blues Challenge (IBC) in Memphis, TN, January, 2019.
A graduate of Florida’s University of Miami School of Music and an alumni of Berklee College of Music’s Songwriting Program in Boston, Hooper is also an experienced educator. Most recently, he joined Roots of American Music (ROAM) in Cleveland as a Teaching Artist. In this position, he lead classes of high school students in writing and performing songs together about diversity and intolerance. He has taught guitar privately for over 10 years in Cleveland, Boston, Los Angeles and Shanghai to students from five years old to adults. He also teaches beginning ukulele, piano and vocal lessons. In Beijing, China, he and his bandmates each conducted master classes at the contemporary music college, Beijing Midi School. Hooper served as a music teacher and staff assistant for the Shaker Heights Youth Center’s summer program for elementary students in 2009.
With five CDs released on the FBJoy Records label, Hooper’s songs have been heard by millions on the hot daytime TV Dramas “All My Children” and “The Young and the Restless.”
In 2009, Hooper won the “King of the Blues” competition hosted by Guitar Center’s Cerritos, CA store. A documentary of Hooper’s musical journey was produced by a Boston area Cable TV provider and can now be enjoyed on youtube.com.
Sam Hooper Group has opened for American blues greats, Shemekia Copeland, Coco Montoya, Ronnie Earl, Curtis Salgado, Samantha Fish, Matthew Curry, Luther “Guitar Jr.” Johnson, John Nemeth, and also for England’s Number One Blues Guitarist, Matt Schofield.
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