Andy Kimbel

Background

About Andy Kimbel

Andy Kimbel tells his story with voice and guitar, drawing on the techniques that have sustained itinerant blues artists for generations. For this fingerstyle guitarist, the instrument is a portable orchestra, with bass lines, chords, and fragments of melody to support his vocals.”.Hawaii Public Radio Andy Kimbel began playing the guitar and piano when he was about 9 and by 11, was playing in a band. In his early teens, he got an electric guitar and started gigging at various functions in the Philly area. Andy later went to school to pursue a career in aviation and become a commercial pilot and flight instructor. It wasn't until a pilot furlough at the early 90’s that Andy picked up the guitar, went out and played thinking that it would give him something to do until he got back into the cockpit. He would also spend time frequenting various clubs and coffee houses watching and learning from performers like Garmet Rogers, Chris Smither, Tom Rush. Rory Block and Bill Morrissey. It was then that the call of the Philadelphia and New York blues and singer songwriter scene grabbed Andy and brought him in as a performer at these same venues. Andy Kimbel is celebrating a 25 year professional music career."Performing is my thing" says Kimbel". The guitar and I come alive on stage together and just go. I never really know for sure what I am going to play nor how I am going to play it for that matter." He keeps his audiences enticed with a great flow and versatility as his fingers move effortlessly across the neck of the guitar while singing and picking rhythm patterns and leads simultaneously improvising with his own compositions and a selection of traditional Specialties: Performing Music at Festivals, Special Events, Concert Halls, Folk and Blues rooms, song writing, recording and producing. Andy also conducts workshops in Guitar, Performance and Songwriting in conjunction with some of his performances.