Andrew Wakefield

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Andrew Wakefield is a bluegrass guitarist, songwriter, and singer based in Chimney Rock, North Carolina. Growing up in a musical family with a religious background, Andrew gained his first vocal experience singing hymns with family and in church choirs. That same passionate feeling within himself has prompted Andrew’s emotional singing power and unique guitar style throughout his life.

Leaving home at the age of sixteen, Andrew spent a few years living a gypsy life of travel, adventure seeking, and soul searching, eventually ending up growing cannabis in rural California for a living and traveling abroad in the off season to backpack places like India, Brazil, Philippines, Laos, and Mexico. In 2020 a former band-mate suggested he move back to North Carolina to be near more musical peers and the vibrant local roots music scene.

Soon after returning to NC Andrew was offered a weekly gig with the house bluegrass band at Jack of the Wood in Asheville, a local bluegrass and roots music institution. This exposure helped Andrew become a full-time musician, gigging regularly with The Well Drinkers, Supper Break, The Pigeon River Messengers, and other regional bands. The dream of playing music for a living had been achieved, but a desire for the realization of his own personal passion project lingered.

Performing and touring relentlessly with these acts eventually gave Andrew the experience and confidence to step into the limelight with his own songs and style, thus the Andrew Wakefield solo project was born. A debut record, Bluegrassish, was released in April of 2023. Encouraged by local praise for the album, he decided to part ways with The Well Drinkers to pursue a solo career in earnest.

2024 was a momentous year for Andrew Wakefield; highlights include performing at Blue Ox Fest and AVL Fest, radio spins at The Bluegrass Jamboree and FM radio stations around the country, and performing live at WDVX Knoxville’s live radio show the Blue Plate Special. Bluegrassish, his debut album released in 2023, has since reached 50,000 Spotify plays.