Program Description
Event Details
Award-winning singer, guitarist and storyteller Andrew McKnight comes to Little Noon Music to perform with a little help from Zoom.
Singer, writer and guitarist Andrew McKnight's solo performances are powerful and entertaining one-man theatre, delivered with the warmth and down-home comfort native to his northern Virginia Blue Ridge home. 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.
2020 finds McKnight bringing a dynamic new element to his show from his new album and book Treasures in My Chest; 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?" His book is filled with valuable tips for those seeking to uncover and explore their own family mysteries.
The resulting performance is a delightful welcome into the diverse aspects of his unique life, ranging from family DNA tests, time spent with Appalachian miners, guitars made of local native wood, and much more. As McKnight says, "I couldn't make these stories up, and it would be a shame not to share them!"
This performance is partially supported by funding from the Virginia Commission for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.