Sam Holden's 3 Year Project and Glastonbury dream

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Sam Holden’s 3 Year Project and Glastonbury dream

Penny Brand

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Sam Holden’s 3 Year Project and Glastonbury dream

January 3, 202518 min read

After a painful visit to the doctor, Sam Holden experienced an epiphany that led to the creation of his band 3 Year Project. Now Sam wants to give his dream of becoming a world-class musician one final shot. Yelo music editor Penny Brand chats to him about how he will achieve his triumphant trifecta.

Sam Holden has a three-year goal: to play in his band 3 Year Project at the Glastonbury Festival.

The 42-year-old Baringa father-of-three is giving music one last go after a 20-year hiatus.

“Life just sort of got in the way,” Sam says.

“I’d always known my songs were too good to just be in a cupboard. I put so much time and effort and energy and passion into them when I was younger for them to just turn to dust.

“Music was always on my mind. I knew when I had more time, I’d try again.”

The hard-working principal engineer put down his guitar to focus on his career and family.

“It’s hard to focus on your aspirations when you have a young family and bills to pay.”

Sam became a specialist in the field of process safety, where he regularly presents at conferences,
writes international engineering standards, and assesses major oil and gas facilities

Having worked all over the world, the English native fell in love with Australia during a work trip in 2014.

Two years later, he emigrated with his wife and they now have three gorgeous children, age four, seven and 13.

“The guitars were left at home gathering dust after we went travelling around the world.”

What is the 3 Year Project?

3 Year Project is a vision as big as Mt Everest.
Sam Holden wants to give music one last crack and prove that you can still dream big at any age.
Sam had an epiphany after his doctor told him the arthritis in his finger was not going away and would require surgery.
He set a goal to play at the UK’s iconic Glastonbury Festival, on the Pyramid Stage, in 2027.
The Sunshine Coast resident and father-of-three will play 100 gigs across Australia, as part of the journey.
Should they be successful, Sam promises to buy everyone who attends his first show at The Presynct a ticket to their final show on the main stage at Glastonbury.
To top it off, Sam is giving profits from his project to local mental health services.
He wants to inspire people to go for their own dreams and encourage them to follow his journey.

A trip to the doctor puts life in perspective

Sam started experiencing pain in his index finger earlier this year, and experienced a revelation he simply couldn’t shake.

The pain turned out to be arthritis and a doctor told him surgery was his only chance at a pain-free future.

“It really hurts in my index finger when I play,” he says.

Sam began to think more about what he wanted to achieve in life, before it might be all gone.

He felt like the clock was ticking.

A serendipitous moment in Auckland

Two weeks later, Sam was on a work trip in New Zealand when he saw an open mic advertised at the local pub.

He decided to check it out one night after work, and soon found himself borrowing someone else’s guitar.

After decades of not playing, Sam performed to a small group of people he’d never met.

While playing a handful of his old songs, he was overwhelmed with memories that came flooding back. And Sam quickly remembered how much fun it was to play in front of an audience.

It not only got his endorphins racing, but also set off a burst of creative musical-shockwaves, which were lying dormant in his body for what felt like a lifetime.

Without much more thought, Sam headed to the Auckland airport where he saw a car with a sticker and the words: “One Day or Day 1”.

“I went home and thought ‘this is going to be day one of something special’. But it took a few days to really define what I wanted to do. I didn’t want the idea to just fizzle out, so to keep me on track I knew I needed a project.

“I thought to myself: ‘If you want to climb a mountain, why not Mt Everest?

“If you want to play a gig, why not Glastonbury?’

“If you can play at Glastonbury, you have made it as a singer.”

Not the ‘woo woo’ type

Sam has never been superstitious.

“I don’t know if this is a mid-life crisis or what,” he says of the project.

“So I said to myself: ‘OK, this is what I’m doing, and I’m going to give it a red-hot go’.”

As an engineer, it’s easy to believe him when he says he’s not much of a dreamer type.

Sam says he is not religious or spiritual, and this project is “unusual” for him.

“Those guitars kept playing on my mind. I asked myself: ‘What do you really want to get out of music?'”

A brush with tragedy makes Sam act

Sam’s early family life has not been without dysfunction and personal tragedy.

Growing up in North Manchester, Sam’s brother was plagued with a mental health battle of his own.

“My brother, who is now my sister, struggled with mental health all her life.

“My earliest memory is when he was 10 and standing on a railway bridge trying to die by suicide. He was waiting for a train to come so he could jump.

“I remember taking him down. I was only eight-years-old.

“As a family, we didn’t really understand mental health as it was not a thing back then. We did not get the
support we needed.”

Sam’s now-sister left home at age 16 and they lost contact for 20 years.

While the pair have since repaired their relationship, Sam only wishes things had been different.

Sam wants to partner with a charity such as Headspace to raise money and awareness for mental health in children.

“I know if she and our family had got the support we needed, I know my sister’s life would be different.

“I can’t turn the back time, but I can help someone now.

“If the 3 Year Project can help tens – if not hundreds of families – then it will be the best thing to come from this project.

“I want to make a tangible difference in each community we play in. And give others the chance that my sister never had.”

Kitchen work leads to love of Brit-pop

Sam made his first album when he was 17 (pictured).

He was working in a kitchen as a dish hand, where his colleague chef, who also played guitar, introduced him to a style of music which would inspire him for decades to come.

“He used to play lots of Brit-pop. It was just simple, all-round melodies. I loved the simpleness and the expressions.

“I fell in love with being able to write and express myself.”

Sam found bands such as Oasis, Blur and Pulp, who absolutely enthralled him, particularly after months of learning jazz from his teacher.

“He taught me songs with simple open chords and that’s when I decided that’s the music I wanted to play.”

Sam quickly tired of playing other people’s songs and started to write his own.

“It was a way for me to express myself. I would write songs in my room.

“Writing music felt just like I was painting. I could express how I was feeling in songs better than I could in conversations.”

He started singing lessons to help improve his voice and his teacher introduced him to her producer.

“I was too young to drive so she drove me down there to record my first song. Two years later and my first album was finished.

“All my savings was then spent on that first album.”

While Sam only made 10 copies of his first album, he wrote that album for the love of making music.

Sam wrote and recorded “Problems” from that album when he was 16. You can listen to the original recording here:

Trip to major music festival rouses second album

After his first trip to Glastonbury when he was 18, Sam wanted to make a second album, and make it the best he could.

“I dedicated every spare minute and hour to writing this album.

“I wrote probably 150 songs in that time and can probably still remember 70 of them.

“Music was absolutely everything to me when until I was 22. I got burnout.

“I was basically devoted to it. I’d write and write and write. The way I expressed myself was to just write songs.

“I used to really listen to all songs and understand the magic.

“I’d deep-dive into its meaning, like try and figure out how they got those lyrics. And just dissect the song. It was more like listening to a recipe than a song.”

Sam printed 500 copies of his second album and sold them in his local music store.

However, he never got the opportunity to perform his songs live.

Not only did his career get in the way, but like many musicians, Sam also suffered from debilitating stage fright, making his dream even more impossible.

“Things are different now. I feel like on one hand I have lost that creative essence, but I have grown in confidence and public speaking.

“I am a different person now I have more self-assurance and belief in myself and my abilities.”

A project, not a band

Sam is treating the 3 Year Project as an experimental project instead of a conventional band.

“We are using session musicians to learn the songs and perform them live. We are rehearsing in a studio to get the best sound we can.

“We’re also recording every rehearsal and documenting the progress.”

Sam is working with a mentalist and vocal coach to help him with confidence and stage presence.

“The aim is to document our journey and then make a documentary about it. We aim to find the blueprint to get to play at Glastonbury.”

Sam says all is not lost if he doesn’t fulfil his Glastonbury dream.

“If it doesn’t work out, at least I can say I gave it my all.

“When I’m 65 I will know I gave it my best, which is far better than not ever trying.

“I can also say I raised awareness, and hopefully a lot of funds, for charity. And hopefully inspired some people along the way.”

He says the project is more than achieving his dream of being a star.

“It’s a testament to the power of music to build and gives back to its local community. It serves as a reminder to all of us that it’s never too late to fulfil our aspirations.”

The 3 Year Project sound

3 Year Project is deeply rooted in the Brit-pop tradition, drawing inspiration from iconic bands such as Oasis, Blur, and Pulp.

Each track serves as a chapter in the soundtrack of their lives, telling personal stories with universal themes.

“Our music captures the ups and downs of everyday life with raw emotion and honesty.

“From big, anthemic choruses that bring back the 90s spirit to deep, reflective ballads about love and loss, our songs really connect with people.

“We aim to create a sound that’s both nostalgic and new, with memorable guitar riffs, catchy melodies, and meaningful lyrics.”

Whether it’s the joy of romance, the bittersweet memories of youth, or the strength found in overcoming
challenges, 3 Year Project is music everyone can relate to.

Their demos on Spotify and Apple Music are some of the songs from Sam’s earlier two albums and they’ve become the heart and soul of the project’s sound.

“We’re taking these raw, early tracks and transforming them into something new and exciting for our live performances.

“As we work on perfecting our set, we want to share these songs with you. It’s a chance for you to hear where we started and witness the evolution of our music.

“You’ll get to experience the original spirit from the demos, and see how we’ve grown and refined them as a band.”

The 3 Year Project will have their first single by February, and an album by the end of 2025 (watch this space!).