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 highway, and earned him a wealth of critical acclaim and enthusiastic fans for his captivating performances and seven recordings. That journey will bring him to West Ashley next Thursday, Jan. 26 where he will perform at Hungry Monk Music.
McKnight is a singer, writer, guitarist, and storyteller usually tours solo, but also performs frequently with founding Nitty Gritty Dirt Band member Les Thompson, fronting their genre-bending quartet Beyond Borders. His music is heard on broadcast and internet radio around the world, and he’s been a featured guest on the NPR/PRI syndicated Art of the Song and River City Folk shows. He is an insightful essayist and poet, a gifted workshop leader, and a warm and thoughtful interview.
Those passions, and the thoughtful ways he expresses them, have drawn legions of fans who sustain his independent career. In the early 1990s Andrew grasped the power of the internet to grow and connect with a loyal listenership, and his career has blossomed largely through their support instead of the traditional elements of the music business. Many friends and fans even host concerts in their homes for 30-50 listeners, venues he refers to as “safe houses on the folk underground railroad.”
McKnight 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. 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.
Andrew McKnight will perform Thursday Jan 26, at 7:30pm at Hungry Monk Music, located at 1948 Belgrade Ave. Tickets are $10. For more information, call 571-3857 and www.hungrymonkmusic.com.
