SATURDAY 5/4: Andrew McKnight at ESO Arts Center — Another Don McLean?

Saturday, May 4, at 7:30 p.m., ESO Arts Center scores another first for the Shore with An Evening with Andrew McKnight.

Andrew McKnight’s musical kinship with rural communities like the Eastern Shore was the impetus for ESO’s desire to bring him to the Shore for the first time. The acclaimed singer, songwriter and guitarist is known for his engaging collection of songs and stories celebrating the lives and landscapes of rural American people with warmth and humor.

Since permanently leaving his corporate environmental engineering career in 1996, the award-winning folk and Americana artist has traced half a million miles of back highways and backwater towns, and earned critical acclaim as well an enthusiastic fan base. McKnight’s five CD’s showcase soundscapes that span haunting blues, feisty anthems, rustic folk, and a bit of swing.

The National Theatre in Washington DC said McKnight “Blends wry and romantic stories with keen tuneful observations in a delicious mix of folk, blues and bluegrass … a man not to be missed.”

The Boston Globe stated his voice was 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.”

A sample performance can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6XtaWiwRUY.

No stranger to elite stages, like the Kennedy Center, Rocky Mountain Folks Festival or the Katharine Hepburn Theater, McKnight’s music melds a communicative power with his audience in intimate venues like ESO LIVE!

“Part of fulfilling ESO’s mission of ‘empowering the Shore through the arts’ is to bring different performers not usually available to our community,” said Dawn Simpson, ESO Executive Director. “If the community comes out and supports this effort we can continue to do so.”

ESO LIVE! Bringing local, regional music & artistic mayhem every month to the Shore in an intimate, nightclub-like atmosphere.
$10 Admission, Beer/Wine, Soda & Snacks  sold. Doors open 7p.m., Music 7:30 p.m. Reservations are encouraged. 757-442-3226, [email protected].

Eastern Shore’s Own Arts Center, 15293 King St  Belle Haven, VA 23306