Sam Woolf's post-'American Idol' plans

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Bradenton's Sam Woolf returns home July 17 to sing at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall following a fifth place finish on this season's "American Idol." (Credit: Michael Becker / FOX. Copyright 2014 FOX Broadcasting.)

Bradenton's Sam Woolf performing on "American Idol." (Credit: Michael Becker / FOX. Copyright 2014 FOX Broadcasting.)

Sam Woolf still has a few dates left with the  "American Idol Live" tour on the West Coast but the singer-songwriter who graduated from Braden River High School this year already has big plans for his post-"Idol" career. Woolf has lived in Bradenton with his grandparents, Roy and Jackie Woolf, for the past several years and they talked to Ticket today about Sam's future following the launch of his new website samwoolfmusic.com.

For starters, "American Idol," on which Woolf finished fifth this season, declined to sign the 18-year-old to a recording contract, freeing him to make an album with his cousin, Grammy-winning producer Danny Blume, who has worked with everyone from Iggy Pop to Jewel. Woolf will begin the month-long recording process September 16 at Blume's studio in Woodstock, N.Y. The singer will return to Bradenton, though, for a September 27 concert at IMG Academy Stadium with the money from ticket sales going to the Sam Woolf Music Scholarship Fund. To finance the album, Woolf will be using the crowd-funding platform Kickstarter and selling newly-designed T-shirts that will be available "soon," said Jackie.

"It's a good thing we have a cousin who is a Grammy-nominated producer," Roy said. "He really likes Sam and they have been communicating for a while. As soon as Sam found out he wasn't being signed by 'Idol' he called Danny and Danny said he'd love to work with him."

Sam's album will be a mix of originals and covers, Roy said. This season's "American Idol" winner Caleb Johnson's album "Testify," which the show produced, came out Tuesday.

Visit our Sam Woolf page for past interviews, reviews, photo galleries and videos of his performances this season on "American Idol."



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WADE TATANGELOis the editor of TICKET + and a contributor at TicketSarasota.com. He has been an entertainment editor, reporter, columnist and reviewer for more than a decade at publications nationwide. He is a Hershey, Pa., native who grew up in Tampa and graduated from the University of South Florida. Wade joined the Herald-Tribune in 2013 and writes the weekly Bar Tab column. He can be reached by email or call (941) 361-4955.
Last modified: August 16, 2014
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