Andy Leftwich & Friends Coming to Athens State

Andy Leftwich & Friends will be coming to Athens State University as part of the Tennessee Valley Old Time Fiddlers Concert Series. The concert will be the second of the four-part series that leads up to the 2019 Fiddlers Convention in October, allowing bluegrass lovers to enjoy the sounds of old-time music throughout the year. The event will be held on Thursday, April 11 at 7:00 PM in McCandless Hall.

Andy, a four-time Grammy winning instrumentalist, brings with him a collaboration of American Fiddle music featuring bluegrass, country, swing, jazz, Irish, and a mixture of classical influences creating instrumental music that will both exhilarate and inspire the soul. He began playing the fiddle at the age of six and won his first fiddle contest at seven years old. Andy also went on to win the National Championship for Beginners at the age of twelve and the “Walnut Valley Old Time Fiddle Championship,” one of the most prestigious fiddle contests in the country, at the age of fifteen.

By the time he was a teenager, Andy had made appearances on the Grand Ole Opry, “Music City Tonight” with Crook and Chase, and was well accomplished as a winning contest fiddler among the Southeastern region. After adding mandolin and guitar to his arsenal, Andy began playing professionally at the age of fifteen. He joined Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder in 2001 and played with them for nearly sixteen years. During that time, he completed a solo album (“Ride,” Skaggs Family Records), recorded two critically acclaimed albums as a member of trio Three Ring Circle (with dobro player Rob Ickes and bassist Dave Pomeroy), and built an impressive list of studio credits as one of Nashville’s top session players. Andy is now pursuing other musical and ministerial avenues with his latest release of “Instrumental Hymns.”