Artists:Andru Bemis

Since 2001, Andru Bemis has wandered the ends, edges and in-betweens of North America more times than he can count. An anomaly in a land of private automobiles - a turtle without a shell - Bemis wends his path by foot, thumb, bus and passenger train. He performs almost nightly - sometimes two or three times a day - in the cities and towns along his route, entrusting his care to the kindness of friends he meets on the way. While his travels and lifestyle earn frequent comparisons to Carl Sandburg, John Steinbeck and Woody Guthrie, it’s Bemis’s unmistakable voice, expressive self-taught styles on banjo and guitar (and occasional fiddle or banjo-ukulele), engaging stage presence, and exquisitely crafted tunes of travel and longing which have earned him rapid respect and a dedicated following throughout Mexico, Canada, the U.S., and beyond.

The songs of Andru Bemis are spiritually descended from an era when music was made and played to express one’s deepest emotions while entertaining the neighbors. Bemis is a “traditionalist with a fresh approach and a modern troubadour with deep respect for the roots of his craft. He is a gifted vocalist and instrumentalist. His music speaks to our present condition in language of a gentler past” (Wepecket Island Records). The Birmingham [Ala.] Weekly calls Bemis a “modern-folk, Midwestern miracle of music …. with a voice that is pretty and ravaged, sounding as though 50 Appalachian winters have run him ragged.”

Bemis’ performances traverse the boundaries of age and culture, drawing audiences young and old, gypsies, folksies, punksies, babies, crusties, hillbillies, grannies and more. Children are known to request songs from his albums by track number, punks and rockers ask for soft tunes of unrequited love, and normally staid adults throw inhibitions aside to sing, bark and dance with folks they’ve only just met.

Besides having performed or toured with a good number of highly regarded bands and artists, Andru has collaborated on recordings with world traveling gypsy-punk accordianist Jason Webley, and on Rachel Ries’ critically acclaimed Waterbug Records debut, For You Only, among others. Andru’s three self-produced solo albums are played regularly on radio stations throughout North America, Europe and Australia. His newest, Rail To Reel, has been called the Best Folk Album of 2006 (KDVS-FM; UC-Davis) for its unique instrumentation - including pump organ, banjo-ukulele, and tuba - and for bringing new life to a collection of lesser-known traditional songs learned and adapted by Bemis in his travels.

When he’s not wandering, Andru Bemis returns to his shell - a very small house in a mid-sized town on an especially large lake in southwest Michigan. He shares his one-room home with several thousand dusty records, a Singer sewing machine, a creaky rocking chair, and few good books..