Artists:Andrew Calhoun

Andrew Calhoun writes with a paradoxical combination of incandescent intellect and unstudied magic. He is both a lightning rod for "the unconscious rightness of intuitive connection" and a perpetual student of songcraft with deep respect for both tradition and innovation. In the thirty-odd years that he has been a songwriter and performer he has created an impressive collection of songs from which he draws in live performances. On stage he is disarmingly unpretentious, spontaneous, insightful and darkly witty, as he weaves a tapestry that includes not only his original songs, but Scottish ballads that he has translated from dialect, and poems and songs by such exceptional writers as Dave Carter, Mary Oliver and Robert Frost.

At age seven, Andrew memorized W. B. Yeats' "Song of Wandering Aengus," thus earning a nickel from his mother. He got his first guitar in 1967 at the age of ten, and began writing songs at twelve. By the late seventies, he was performing in the Chicago folk scene. He has since toured internationally, performing at folk clubs and festivals, pubs and house concerts. He presents workshops on many topics: Creative Songwriting, Song Appreciation, Scottish Folk Ballads, and Music Theory for Guitarists. In 1992, Calhoun founded Waterbug Records, an artists' cooperative folk label which has grown to 70 titles, bringing some of the brightest singer-songwriters and folk musicians to an international audience. His own recordings have been released on Hogeye, Flying Fish and Waterbug Records.

Andrew Calhoun's vivid and inspired music is a companion for anyone who has ventured off the well-paved road to forge their own path in this world. Now living in Chicago, he recently released his tenth album, Staring at the Sun (Songs 1973-1981)..