Andrew McKnight photo by Sarah Huntington

Andrew McKnight PRESSKIT

"With a voice reminiscent of Don McLean, McKnight traverses from old-time Appalachian tunes to contemporary folk and blues, all backed up by his dead-on guitar playing" - The Boston Globe

connect at andrewmcknight.net • 540/338-3233


Scroll down for paragraph bios, solo concert videos, a full streaming concert audio, and credits/career highlights.

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ABOUT: Since permanently leaving his corporate environmental engineering career in 1996, award-winning folk/Americana artist Andrew McKnight's musical journey has traced nearly a million miles of blue highways, and earned him a wealth of critical acclaim and enthusiastic fans for his captivating performances and ten recordings.

Andrew's solo performances are powerful and entertaining one-man theatre, delivered with warmth and down-home comfort. He weaves his finely-crafted songs and nimble flatpicking together with humorous stories and poetic drama, while the musical soundscape traverses influences from Appalachia, spooky slide and jazzy blues, feisty anthems, and rustic folk. His shows are as likely to include humorous songs written with kindergarteners as some of his powerful collaborations with combat veterans coping with PTSD.

His latest album and book Treasures in My Chest adds a dynamic new element to his show, introducing a cast of spellbinding songs and stories drawn from his own recent journeys into family history. Accompanied by three guitars, a dobro, Native American flute and an African hand drum (some with their own remarkable stories), the stage comes alive with intimate detail and vibrant lyricism. From placing you in the footsteps of his doomed Civil War ancestor Aretas Culver, to finding sparks of hope in the long winter nights on the shores of mid-1800s County Down, his vision, voice and pen have created a mesmerizing sweet spot deeply familiar to anyone who's wondered, "who am I and where did I come from?"

Andrew has performed at many prestigious venues like the Kennedy Center, the International Storytelling Center and the Atlanta Olympics, has been part of the Rocky Mountain, South Florida, Boston and Delmarva Folk Festival lineups, and a guest on NPR's "Art of the Song" and "River City Folk" shows. He is a gifted workshop leader, an engaging speaker, and a longtime endorsing artist for Fairbuilt Guitars.

[Full length biography] | [1-sentence bios/description]

RECOMMENDED IF YOU LIKE: Darrell Scott, John McCutcheon, Richard Shindell

 

 

HEAR A FULL CONCERT: Enjoy streaming audio of Andrew's November 2015 live radio concert on WVBR "Bound for Glory". There are 16 songs and separately indexed stories and introductions; use the player controls to move between tracks.

Credits & Accolades

Over his 20-year career he has enjoyed many accolades within the folk music world; a past Formal Showcase Artist at Folk Alliance International (FAI), Southeast (SERFA) and Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) conferences, a Performing Songwriter Top 12 DIY selection, and finalist in the Rocky Mountain Folks Festival Songwriter Showcase, Kerrville New Folk and Falcon Ridge Emerging Artist competitions. His album Something Worth Standing For was one of five Finalists for the 2008 Washington Area Music Awards Album of the Year (overall). His "Good Things Matter" is a past Great American Song Contest Winner (Folk) and has been used in several anti-bullying campaigns.

Jamband Great American Taxi regularly performs his song "Made by Hand", co-written with current bandmate Les Thompson (Nitty Gritty Dirt Band) and Chance McCoy (Old Crow Medicine Show) about mountaintop mining in West Virginia's Coal River Valley, including on the NPR Woodsongs Old-Time Radio Hour. Originally released along with songs from Kathy Mattea and the Del McCoury Band on the acclaimed 2009 compilation Still Moving Mountains, the song also appears in Low Coal, a documentary about conflicts over mountaintop mining in West Virginia’s Coal River Valley.

Andrew has produced or performed on recordings by many different artists, been a contributing writer for Blue Ridge Country  and Americana Rhythm  magazines, and is a sought-after clinician and panelist for songwriting and music business workshops. His article "Real Money" appears in Killing it in the Streaming Age, published by NPR's "Art of the Song" in late 2014. He enjoys an Artist Endorsement with Fairbuilt Guitars and from 2002-23 for Elixir Strings, and is a member of the prestigious Virginia Commission for the Arts Touring Artist Program.

Andrew spent several summer weeks as the featured guest musician at the Ferry Beach Conference Center in Saco, Maine, selecting music and leading a pickup choir in a short interfaith service each morning, teaching workshops for kids and adults, and arranging music for a variety of folk and jazz performances.

Select Performance Highlights

  • Amazing Things Art Center, Framingham MA
  • Anderson Fair, Houston
  • Atlanta Summer Olympic Games
  • Austin Acoustical Cafe, Austin
  • Baltimore Artscape Festival
  • Boston Folk Festival
  • The Birchmere/WFMA, Washington DC
  • Brewery Arts Center, Carson City NV
  • Bristol Historical Society, Bristol CT
  • Chattanooga Riverbend Festival
  • Chesapeake Arts Center, Baltimore MD
  • Chesapeake Maritime Museum, St. Michaels MD
  • Court Square Theater, Harrisonburg VA
  • Delmarva Folk Festival
  • The Fret House, Los Angeles
  • International Storytelling Ctr, Jonesborough TN
  • John F. Kennedy Center, Washington DC
  • Katharine Hepburn Theater, Old Saybrook CT
  • Mountain Spirit Coffeehouse, Asheville NC
  • Mountain Stage NewSongFestival, WV
  • Museum of Shenandoah Valley, Winchester VA
  • Narrows Center for the Arts, Fall River MA
  • Off Square Music Festival, Woodstock IL
  • Palace Theatre, Canton OH
  • Rocky Mountain Folks Festival
  • South Florida Folk Festival
  • Susquahanna Music & Arts Festival, Havre de Grace MD
  • Swallow Hill Music Association, Denver
  • Toadstone Theater, Helena MT
  • Uncle Calvin’s Coffeehouse, Dallas TX
  • Vanilla Bean Cafe, Pomfret CT
  • Virginia Highlands Festival
  • Westhaven Center for the Arts, Trinidad CA