Sammy Blanchette, aka Sammy B, is a New England based singer/songwriter multi-instrumentalist who's career spans nearly two decades. His performance career began primarily out of Southern Connecticut and has since found a primary home in Southern Vermont in the Okemo Valley as of 2018. Like most start up musicians, Sammy began playing out in bars and nightclubs at age 13 as well as sitting in with multiple Southern CT bands, including Hubinger St. which he became the full time bass player from 2010 to 2018. His style of work on electric and acoustic guitar ranges from a broad mix of rock, jazz, reggae, blues and jam band styles.

His most notable work on electric guitar is with his power trio CK3, which began as a 'one-weekend only' group in Ludlow, VT back in 2012, but has since been a force to be reckoned with in the local jam band scene. Although the band has not performed since 2019 primarily due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the group plans to reunite as soon as it is safe to do so. CK3 collaborated with Deep Banana Blackout lead vocalist, Jen Durkin in 2016. A 'one-off performance' with Durkin featuring a couple of Led Zeppelin covers morphed into a CK3 side project called 'Jen Zeppelin'. This group, while seeing a few lineup changes over the years, remains true to it's name: honoring and performing Led Zeppelin's catalog and respecting the forms of the songs, but adding their own spin to it.

Blanchette has also been the lead guitarist and backup vocalist in Western Connecticut based reggae group, Fattie Roots since 2009. The group has a unique catalog of reggae covers, many from the late great Bob Marley, as well as a catalog of their own reggae originals. The band has not performed since 2019 but plans to reunite in the future. 

Blanchette was the full time bass player in Hubinger St. from 2010 - 2018. When he was younger, he used to sit in with the band on electric guitar on weekends in between high school classes and programs. When Sammy moved to Vermont in 2018, Hubinger St. decided to take a break before reforming in 2020 to their original lineup from the '90s.

For many years, Blanchette has balanced his entertainment career with many different customer service/retail jobs. His was a full time employee at his family's company in Shelton, CT Blanchette Sporting Goods for 15+ years, and as of 2020, he works part time from home for the company specializing in marketing, graphic design work, and online store designing and sales. He worked for The Vermont Flannel Company for three months before transitioning to the Okemo Mountain Resort Call Center and Retail Stores in 2019. Before Okemo was acquired by Vail Resorts, Blanchette worked in the ski patrol program as a volunteer safety ambassador. In 2018, he won Safety Ambassador of the year in just his fourth year in the program.

Blanchette has many different hobbies, including photography. He formed his own Facebook Business Page and Instagram account in 2020 titled 'Photography by Sammy B' to showcase some incredible photos he has captured in Southern Vermont for years. Blanchette's longtime girlfriend, Erica Caputo, is an assistant to his marketing and graphic designing.

*Sammy has been mostly focusing his career on solo acoustic shows and writing originals lately. Nevertheless, here are some quick bios of Sammy’s groups over the years!*

Sammy Blanchette:

Lead and Rhythm Guitar
Acoustic Guitar
Bass Guitar
Vocals

Sammy's Projects:


CK3

What started as a laid back fun power trio in Winter 2013 in Vermont doing occasional shows from time to time, CK3 has grown into one of the most sought after jam bands in Southern CT. The band is known for it's high energy performances that cover songs from multiple genres, decades, and styles of music. Highlights of their five year career include performing at Stratford CT's Blues on The Beach festival (2016-present) and playing multiple festival shows at Okemo Mountain Resort in Ludlow, VT (2014-present). In May 2018, it was announced that Caitlin Kalafus was the new drummer for Cyndi Lauper’s Band, and is currently on tour with Cyndi and Rod Stewart. CK3 is currently performing local shows, in CT and VT, with many different talented musicians, and have put together a collaboration group with Jen Durkin of Deep Banana Blackout. The project is called 'Jen Zeppelin' featuring CK3 & Friends. The shows pay tribute to one of Classic Rock's greatest bands, Led Zeppelin, with unique improvisational versions of their music, CK3 style. Catch CK3 at a venue near you. You will surely be smiling and coming back for more!

The band:

Sammy Blanchette - guitar & vocals
Chris Kalafus - bass
Caitlin Kalafus - drums & vocals

*special guests always join CK3 for fun at shows*

Hubinger St.

Since 1992, Hubinger St. has captivated a local following with serious dedication and commitment to their live shows and studio recordings. A Southern CT based quartet, the band originated as an acoustic duo, formed by Casey Gorman and Matt Miklus. Hubinger St. combines bluegrass, rock and roll, blues, jazz, and metal into their original music along with incredible vocal harmonies that blend all their styles together beautifully and uniquely. Since 2010, with the addition of Sammy on bass guitar and Gary Collins on drums (2014), Hubinger St. has been fairly active on the SHELTON, CT festival scene, including Soupstock (2010 - present) and the Downtown Concert Sounds Friday night series (2016 - present). Throughout their current years, they’ve had the pleasure of sharing the stage with members of many different groups, including The Alpaca Gnomes, Kazoo Crew Family Band, and Creamery Station. You can find Hubinger St. in the Southern CT region a couple of times a year. Make sure you check their Facebook Page for the latest updates on local shows.

The band:

Matt Miklus - guitar & vocals
Casey Gorman - guitar & vocals
Sammy Blanchette - bass & vocals
Gary Collins - drums

Fattie Roots

Imagine a reggae band that has the making of a Bob Marley cover band and combines that with a jam band style with a group of talented musicians who add unique jazz improvisational skills to their songs. That's Fattie Roots in a nutshell. The group, lead by powerful front man Michael Summers, has been on the scene since the mid to late 2000s, with original music of their own along with performing the music of Bob Marley, Gregory Isaacs, Peter Tosh, etc. They are not afraid to space out their versions of their favorite artist's songs along with their originals, especially when it involves some talented special guests that join them on a regular basis. The band, also based in Southern CT, has performed at various festivals throughout New England, including SHELTON, CT’s Riverfront Music Revival (June 2018). Summers and Blanchette have also performed live as a duo over the years, calling themselves SUMMERS WITH SAMMY (name credit to Rob Edwards). Most recently, the duo performed at Okemo Mountain Resort’s ALL COME HOME festival (July 2018).

Reggae is a great relaxing style of music to see live. Fattie Roots makes sure that is accurate.

The band:

Michael Summers - vocals & harmonica
George Hanlon - bass
Bob Henderson - drums
Sammy Blanchette - guitar & vocals
Donny Chatoo - rhythm guitar

Jeff Engborg - keys


Matt McNulty & Friends

Whether it's Phish, The Grateful Dead, The Rolling Stones, Prince, Jimi Hendrix, or The Allman Brothers Band, Matt McNulty loves covering it all, especially with the many different talented musicians who join him on a weekly basis. McNulty has made quite a name for himself over the years, and has become one of the elite young guitarists around in the Connecticut Fairfield County area. Some of his incredible projects over the years include Phunk Phloyd (tributes to Phish and Pink Floyd) and Talkpeck Soundsystem (tributes to Talking Heads, Vulfpeck, and LCD Soundsystem). You can find Matt and his ever impressive rotating lineup of musicians playing out constantly all across New England. They are never afraid to take chances, and each show offers something completely different from the next.
 

*updated 11/6/22*