Andrew McKnight

Since permanently leaving his corporate environmental engineering career in 1996, award-winning folk and 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 (hear them at http://andrewmcknight.net/music via Bandcamp).

His latest album and book Treasures in My Chest introduced a dynamic new 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?"

Taking his cue from the lyrics of his award-winning song "Good Things Matter", Andrew often shares his talents both on the road and close to home near northwestern Virginia's Blue Ridge to help "neighbors in need". Whether aiding people living on the margins with food drives at concerts, or singing for and about workers and communities displaced by mountaintop removal coal mining, he has seen the power of music to help others up close. His shows are as likely to include humorous songs written with kindergarteners as some of his powerful collaborations with combat veterans coping with PTSD.

Over his 3-decade career he has enjoyed many accolades within the folk music world; Folk Alliance International Performance Alley Showcase (2010), 2011 Southeast and 2009 Northeast Regional Folk Alliance Formal Showcases, a Performing Songwriter Top 12 DIY selection and the Rocky Mountain Folks Festival Songwriter Showcase, Kerrville New Folk Finalist and Falcon Ridge Emerging Artist. His six solo studio albums have earned much critical acclaim and airplay around the world as well as a wealth of NPR stations and several XM/Sirius satellite shows.

While no stranger to elite stages like the Kennedy Center, the Rocky Mountain Folks Festival or the Katharine Hepburn Theater, McKnight's music seems to spread most rapidly through many of the diverse causes that have embraced his music over the years. He's been recently profiled in a Wine Compass video episode with his friends at Catoctin Creek Distilling Company, his song "Made by Hand" is in 'Low Coal', a documentary about the West Virginia coalfields, and "Good Things Matter" was featured in a podcast of Bread for the World, a global faith-based organization working to end hunger. His environmental anthem "The Other Way" appears on 'Songs from the Tackle Box', a compilation CD dedicated to fisherman and responsible stewardship of America's rivers and resources.

His music is heard on hundreds of broadcast and internet radio programs around the world including many National Public Radio stations, XM Satellite, and the nationally syndicated "Art of the Song" and "River City Folk".

In addition to his own performing and recording career, 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 for songwriting and music business workshops. He enjoys an artist endorsement with Fairbuilt Guitars and is a member of the prestigious Virginia Commission for the Arts Touring Artist Program.