Environmental engineer-turned-touring songwriter ANDREW McKNIGHT (http://www.shenandoahacoustics.com/andrew) has received national critical acclaim for his engaging performances, rich warm voice, standout guitar playing, and three CDs on the independent Falling Mountain label (http://www.fallingmountain.com), including his most recent, "Turning Pages". Equal parts Shenandoah Valley storyteller and poet blended with ever-present strains of the American historian, geographer and naturalist, his rurally-based music reflects an oral history built on the past while firmly musically rooted in the present. "Blends wry and romantic stories with keen tuneful observations in a delicious mix of folk, blues and bluegrass... a man not to be missed!" (The National Theatre). Andrew's insightful lyrics, charming tenor, and bluesy guitar licks have become distinctive trademarks, whether drawing contemporary parallels to Thomas Jefferson's relationship with Sally Hemings ("Diary"), conjuring up spooky apparitions in Louisiana's refinery swamps (Chemical Voodoo), or using a Cadillac El Dorado as a whimsical metaphor for graceful aging ("Million Miles Together"). He is an exceptional entertainer and storyteller, weaving his songs together with narratives, from his rhythmically pulsating introduction to "Letter to Colonel Mosby" to his hilarious spontaneous monologue on Louise Wolverton's observations on "Great Truths About Life".
Andrew tours nationally as a full-time performer, with his resume including performances at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, the Kennedy Center, the National Theatre, Appalshop Theatre, Mountain Stage NewSong Festival, Chattanooga Riverbend Festival and Baltimore's blockbuster Artscape Festival as well as renowned listening rooms such as The Birchmere (DC), Swallow Hill (Denver), Uncle Calvin's (Dallas), The Fret House (LA), and Nashville's Bluebird Café, and has been featured at the Kerrville, Falcon Ridge and Napa Music Festivals. He was the featured performer at the 2003 Earth Day celebration in downtown Jacksonville with Sierra Club National Executive Director Carl Pope and the featured leader for a 3-day creativity workshop at the 2002 Western Unitarian Universalist Life Festival at Georgia O'Keefe's Ghost Ranch in New Mexico. The several landscape-oriented songs on his second CD, "Where This River Runs", have made Andrew a particular favorite for river festivals and environmental events.
"Pick your favorite poet or balladeer and McKnight will equal them with an Appalachian soul" (Victory Review) "this brilliant guitar player brought those (Blue Ridge) mountains with him...Relating story after story and song after song, often combining his interest in geography, history and a keen eye for the human spirit, Andrew presented a night overflowing with fantastic original material which could only be rated with Blue Ribbons, 5-Stars and a couple of thumbs up." (Tidewater Friends of Folk Music)
"As a singer and songwriter, McKnight is a marvel, capturing the essence - the very heart and soul of the past and present in his insightful observations about places and the people who live there. An environmental engineer and avid historian of rural life, he brings a deep truth to his words and music that resonates with an irresistible charm as he shares his thoughts for us to ponder with him. His voice itself is one that you can literally listen to for hours, savoring its mellow sound like a fine mountain wine." (Eureka Times-Standard)
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