Saturday January 8, 2022

Registration details will be EMAILED along with a receipt (two separate emails). If you do not receive that email - please check your spam folder. If you still cannot find details contacting tickets@focusmusic.org. "With a voice reminiscent of Don McLean, McKnight traverses from old-time Appalachian tunes to contemporary folk and blues, all backed up by his dead-on guitar playing" - The Boston Globe Tonight will be a presentation of "Stories from the Homefront" - a night of tales and treasures from the Sandy Spring Museum archives woven together with the songs and stories of singer/songwriter Andrew McKnight. You will be hearing about the early days of Sandy Spring, MD, some rough moments in our history and how through a SENSE of that history, and the vision of our arts and artists, we can hold a positive outlook for the future. About ANDREW MCKNIGHT: Since permanently leaving his corporate environmental engineering career in 1996, award-winning folk/Americana artist Andrew McKnight's musical journey has traced nearly a million miles of blue highways, and earned him a wealth of critical acclaim and enthusiastic fans for his captivating performances and nine recordings. Additionally, Andrew never let the COVID pandemic slow him down, continuing to produce virtual shows and concerts including the Mountville Folk Festival, helping to continue not only his own long-running career through these unprecedented challenges, but raising the voices of dozens of singer/songwriters and performers around him. FocusMusic is very proud to turn the camera around and get him back on our virtual stage. Andrew's solo performances are powerful and entertaining one-man theatre, delivered with warmth and down-home comfort. He weaves his finely-crafted songs and nimble flatpicking together with humorous stories and poetic drama, while the musical soundscape traverses influences from Appalachia, spooky slide and jazzy blues, feisty anthems, and rustic folk. His shows are as likely to include humorous songs written with kindergarteners as some of his powerful collaborations with combat veterans coping with PTSD. His latest album and book Treasures in My Chest adds a dynamic new element to his show, introducing a cast of spellbinding songs and stories drawn from his own recent journeys into family history. Accompanied by three guitars, a dobro, Native American flute and an African hand drum (some with their own remarkable stories), the stage comes alive with intimate detail and vibrant lyricism. From placing you in the footsteps of his doomed Civil War ancestor Aretas Culver, to finding sparks of hope in the long winter nights on the shores of mid-1800s County Down, his vision, voice and pen have created a mesmerizing sweet spot deeply familiar to anyone who's wondered, "who am I and where did I come from?" Andrew has performed at many prestigious venues like the Kennedy Center, the International Storytelling Center and the Atlanta Olympics, has been part of the Rocky Mountain, South Florida, Boston and Delmarva Folk Festival lineups, and a guest on NPR's "Art of the Song" and "River City Folk" shows. He is a gifted workshop leader, an engaging speaker, and a longtime endorsing artist for Elixir Strings and Fairbuilt Guitars.