about me :

As a teenager in the 2000's I became very interested in acoustic blues music. I was enchanted by the finger-style guitar on records by musicians like Brownie McGhee, Bill Broonzy, and Mississippi John Hurt. 

However, due to a resurgence in popularity online, purchasing blues and jazz records became prohibitively expensive. I began collecting and learning music from a variety of sources - Canadian fiddle tunes, European folk music, cylinder records - anything I could get for a decent price. This expanded my interests far beyond mid-century American blues, into what might constitute a wider tapestry of 'world folk music'.

In the late 2000's I formed a trio called the Niagara String Band with two local musicians, Danny Phelan and Shawn Fehlow. We performed at many festivals, historical societies, wineries, breweries and other venues throughout Ontario. 

I started travelling the American Mid-West and East Coast in my early 20's to study with many great musicians. After the band's dissolution in the mid 2010's, I shifted away from performance to focus on repertoire development and teaching. 

Recently, I formed a string duo with a local musician named Bill Finch. We have worked out about two dozen rags, two steps, reels, waltzes and mazurkas, and will be performing around Niagara as 'Andrews & Finch' in 2025/26.

•  2014 Opening act for Frank Fairfield's Ontario Tour w/ Niagara String Band

•  2014 Niagara Jazz Festival (ON) w/ Niagara String Band

 •  2016 Orangeville Blues and Jazz Festival (ON) w/ Jerron Paxton 

 •  2017 Port Townsend Blues Festival (WA) - Lecture series on pattern recognition and practical applications of theory in blues music

 •  2017 Port Townsend Blues Festival (WA) - Co-hosted lecture series on acoustic blues guitar duets w/ Meredith Axelrod

•  2018 Mariposa Folk Festival (ON) w/ Jerron Paxton

 •  2018 Home Routes Tour (ON)  w/ Meredith Axelrod 

 •  2019 Winnipeg Folk Festival (MB) w/ Jerron Paxton