Veteran singer/songwriter and champion guitarist Andy May infuses his songwriting and shows with his trademark creativity, humor, and consummate musicianship. His music embraces styles from blues to Bluegrass, old-time country to contemporary folk, traditional reels to roots-rock.
(Andy May’s) distinct style of writing and performing– with a mixture of warmth, sensitivity and good nature– bridges the gap between traditional and contemporary American music with purity and exuberance. –David Sokol, WRSI
Andy started performing seriously in his teens, immersed in and part of the ‘60’s Folk Revival in New York’s Greenwich Village. After making a name for himself there as an up-and-coming old-time musician and songwriter, he followed his muse to New England, where he built a regional reputation as a folk-rock original, then to Colorado, where he focused on writing, producing, teaching, and family. Now based in Nashville, his reputation has grown to include his extensive work as an educator and mentor and his production work for his IBMA award-winning record label, Swift River Music. His credentials also include playing Carnegie Hall and the Country Music Hall of Fame, a Grand Championship on guitar from the legendary Union Grove, NC, Fiddler’s Convention, and creating and presenting, for over 25 years, his Acoustic Kids Showcases. Andy often co-writes with his wildlife biologist/Master Gardener/lyricist wife, Lauren, who brings a certain earthiness to their joint efforts.
Andy’s latest album, Room for Roots, has played nationwide on independent Americana and Country Music radio, with multiple songs charting. The album itself made Roots Music Report’s 2016 “Top Americana Country Album Chart.” He supported the project with stateside performances, including here in Winfield, MerleFest in North Carolina, and the Station Inn in Nashville, Tennessee, before taking his music to an international audience at Izzy Young’s Folklore Centrum in Stockholm, Sweden.
…You can feel the salt of life in his songs…. Really, few active songwriters can grab a listener with small-town stories and sharply cut images like Andy May. –Jamsphere.com
Andy is delighted to be returning to Winfield for his 28th Walnut Valley Festival.