Sam Lardner and his band Barcelona have been serving up a delicious Mediterranean fusion now for over two decades. A careful blend of Americana and Flamenco gives their music plenty of headroom for storytelling and lyrical expression while bouncing raucously on a bed of powerful rhythmic forms, most notably rumbas, tangos and tanguillos. Somebody once said, "It's like James Taylor and the Gypsy Kings have a fender bender, and they all make friends." Sam is the constant in this equation, but over a dozen musicians have been part of the Barcelona band since 2004. Many have gone on to achieve impressive milestones. In particular, Alba Carmona won a Latin Grammy nomination for best Flamenco Album in 2017, and Marta Robles won a Latin Grammy Award in 2022 for the best Flamenco Album of that year as lead guitarist for Las Migas.

A native New Englander, Sam started out playing solo shows on the contemporary folk circuit between Boston and Philadelphia during the early 90s. When he made the move to Barcelona in 1997, he was instantly recruited to front a country show band that, at its apex, had 8 members and 2 line dancing instructors. The money was fine, but after a few years Sam suspected there had to be something more than the "Boot Scoot Boogie" to present the world. That something came along when Sam met a rising young singer/songwriter named Pedro Javier Hermosilla who, with pop tendencies and an Andalusian heritage, was well steeped in the flamenco tradition and how to access it. 

In 2004, Sam finally felt he had found his fusion comfort zone, and work began on the Barcelona album that would mark a sea change in Sam's career. When it was finally finished in early 2006, it got no attention whatsoever from Spanish labels. Sam released it independently and, following the suggestions of good friends Kim Laudrup and Dave Brush, convinced the Hotel Arts in Barcelona to sell the album in all of its rooms as a takeaway product. 20,000+ copies later, Sam was quietly halfway to a gold record in Spain. During that period, Sam & Barcelona were featured as international guests at US festivals such as Kerrville (TX) and Falcon Ridge (MA), and they enjoyed seasonal tours throughout the East Coast, West Coast and the Rockies.

In 2009, Sam was contracted by The Ocean Foundation in Washington DC to compose 12 children's songs highlighting some of the critical issues facing ocean ecosystems worldwide. The project, Oceans Are Talking, was perfectly timed for Sam on a personal level, as all of his 4 pre-teen kids were able to perform on the album. CDs were sent to participating US primary schools one month ahead of the Oceans Awareness Concerts, and by the time Sam and his band arrived, the kids were literally screaming the lyrics by heart. The project lasted 5 years, won a Global Music silver medal for outstanding children's music, and over 30,000 CDs were distributed to families across the USA during that time. 

That in essence was the beginning of Sam's belief in the magic of benefit concerts for rallying communities around worthy causes. With music, the afterglow is much longer and more powerful. Since then, he has jumped at every opportunity to support meaningful projects, specifically in the areas of education and the environment. And that is the reason Música Helps exists!