Biography

Why You Should Care: Four-time GRAMMY®-winning instrumentalist Andy Leftwich is best known for his years-long stint as the fiddle player with Ricky Skaggs’ Kentucky Thunder, but his experience in roots music stretches further back when he won the National Championship for Beginners at 12. By the time he was a teenager, he had appeared on the Grand Ole Opry and “Music City Tonight” with Crook and Chase. At 15, he capped off his contest career by winning Winfield, Kansas’s Walnut Valley Old Time Fiddle Championship, one of the most prestigious contests in the country. In addition to 2005’s solo album, Ride, Andy has recorded two critically acclaimed albums as a member of Three Ring Circle (with dobro player Rob Ickes and bassist Dave Pomeroy), and built an impressive list of studio credits as one of Nashville’s top session players. His most recent release, “Through The East Gate” was featured as one of Apple Music’s best new Americana songs and in the Americana Music Association’s weekly newsletter.
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Though Andy Leftwich is best known for his years-long stint as the fiddle player in Ricky Skaggs’ award-winning Kentucky Thunder, insiders have known him as a ferociously talented mandolin player, too — and with the release of his second single for Mountain Home, the word is sure to spread among bluegrass and acoustic music fans of every stripe.

“Over Cincinnati” puts Leftwich’s mandolin front and center from the first chords of its vigorous, syncopated opening section. With the mellow tone he coaxes from the instrument and the smooth cascades of notes that articulate the tune’s elegant central melody, Leftwich shows that he belongs in the front ranks of today’s pickers, alongside peers such as Sierra Hull and Chris Thile. Not surprisingly, brief solo passages from guitarist Cody Kilby, resonator guitarist Rob Ickes and banjo player Scott Vestal — all, along with bassist Byron House, frequent collaborators — serve not only to illuminate each one’s take on the tune, but also provide contrasting textures that underline Leftwich’s virtuosity on both the mandolin and fiddle.

“This is a song that I wrote a few years back while playing with Ricky Skaggs and the Cincinnati Orchestra,” recalls Leftwich. “The hotel I stayed in that night overlooked the beautiful skyline of Cincinnati, Ohio, so I decided to name the song after it. A lot of the songs I write usually get named after towns or cities that I have visited, and this one seemed to capture the exciting feeling you get when you come to the city.”

“I couldn’t imagine recording this song,” he adds, “without the wonderful creativity of the musicians that picked on it with me!”

With its distinctive blend of modern, progressive sounds built on a classic fiddle tune framework, “Over Cincinnati” is a powerful illustration of the 21st century relevance of instrumental roots music — or, at least, its relevance in the hands of a master like Andy Leftwich.

About Andy Leftwich
Four-time GRAMMY®-winning instrumentalist Andy Leftwich began playing the fiddle at the age of six, entering his first contest at seven and winning the National Championship for Beginners at the age of twelve. By the time he was a teenager, he had appeared on the Grand Ole Opry and “Music City Tonight” with Crook and Chase, and had established a reputation as a winning contest fiddler throughout the Southeast. At 15, he capped off his contest career by winning Winfield, Kansas’s Walnut Valley Old Time Fiddle Championship, one of the most prestigious contests in the country. At the same time, with mandolin and guitar added to his arsenal, Andy began playing professionally, and before he finished his teens, he had joined Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder in 2001. wIn addition to 2005’s solo album, Ride, Andy has recorded two critically acclaimed albums as a member of Three Ring Circle (with dobro player Rob Ickes and bassist Dave Pomeroy), and built an impressive list of studio credits as one of Nashville’s top session players.