Sam Rogers

As I mentioned in my now page, I’ve got a few gigs coming up this week with my pianist friend Heather Bosshardt. She is a 2026 Utah Artist Fellow and this mini-tour is her celebration of that. What I didn’t realize until our recent rehearsal, is that I’m actually doing a lot more than singing.

Not only am I recording everything with my camera and audio rig, and lighting and helping with staging, and fronting the jazz trio (which is all I thought I was agreeing to, initially). I’m also:

  • swinging snare/brushes (while fronting the Jazz trio)
  • playing bohdrán for a few Irish reels & jigs
  • playing cajon in the backup band (at approximately Mach 2 with the fiddler)
  • Stepping, clapping, singing, and tambourining with the gospel choir
  • playing djonga (cross between a djembe and conga) for the Capoeira group, Latin, and Calypso numbers
  • adding various hand percussion and vocal percussion/beatboxing as needed

Looking at that list, it seems I really am a percussionist now, not just a vocal percussionist. Another item crossed that off the bucket list!

Concert poster for the Heather Bosshardt Utah Artist Fellow 2026 Concert Series: three 7:30pm shows, August 6 at Heritage Campground, August 7 at The Showbarn at Oak Creek, and August 8 at Blackham's Outback in Mt. Pleasant, featuring Sara Gunnel on fiddle, Sam Rogers on jazz vocals, Mateo Peterson on bass, Terica Bishop on vocals, and friends on vocals, percussion and capoeira.