Andy McKee

Years at Winfield: 

2006 - One of today's finest young fingerstyle guitarists, Andy McKee is hailed by many musicians in the acoustic world as the most promising fingerstyle guitarist to arrive on the scene in some time. Over the last thirteen years, Andy has cited numerous influences from Metallica, to Bjork, to Don Ross, to Tchaikovsky, and has created a unique voice on the acoustic guitar by drawing from these inspirations. In the last 4 years, Andy has placed highly in a number of guitar competitions including 1st in the state of Kansas, 2nd in Canada, and 3rd in the U.S. Fingerstyle Guitar Championships. In 2001, Andy was the youngest competitor to ever place in the top 3 at Winfield Kansas' esteemed National Fingerstyle Guitar Championships. In more recent years, Andy has begun international touring including performances in Taiwan, China, Japan, England, and Belgium. World renowned fingerstyle guitarist and the world's only two-time National Fingerstyle Guitar Champion, Don Ross, had this to say about Andy: "In my humble opinion, Andy is the most innovative and exciting fingerstyle guitarist to emerge in years. Still in his 20's, Andy has developed a mastery of the 6-string guitar and the harp guitar that leaves me speechless. I find myself listening to his tunes over and over again, discovering new nuances every time. He is the most textural player of the instrument since Michael Hedges, and he creates sonic architecture worthy of the great modern composers for any instrument."