Sam Bernhardt is a New York based multi-genre guitarist. He performs jazz and americana with Quiet Fire Trio, pop and R&B with Newburgh-based MVORE, traditional Irish, Scottish, and early American folk music with O’Sullivan’s March, experimental electro-acoustic work with Ethereal Semantics, and leads his own original indie-folk project, Tiny Spores. He has built a reputation as a versatile collaborator in any musical setting.

While Sam mainly studies the language of jazz, he resists allegiance to any single genre. His study of guitar improvisation has always flourished alongside a steady practice of folk songwriting. This holistic and multifaceted approach balances the complex with the simple, the cerebral with the emotional, and the mind with the body.

Even in his most virtuosic explorations, Sam remains grounded by a deeper yearning for human connection. Still, his relentless curiosity—especially his fascination with fretboard geometry and knotted harmonic concepts—marks him as a distinctly cerebral artist.

Sam’s musicality is perhaps most evident in his ease with multiple instruments. His experience as a multi-instrumentalist recording artist reveals a musician who transcends the ego-trap of individualism and serves the greater purpose of the song.

Sam's most influential teachers include Daniel Seriff, Chris Weisman, and Bruce Bishop. Sam holds a B.A. in Jazz Performance from Guilford College.