Andy Wilkinson is a writer and singer of contemporary western folk music. Through his poems and songs, he weaves images of people and places in telling the tales of the American West of yesterday and today.

His material comes from true stories of the past and present, real events in the lives and times of the people of the West like his distant uncle Charlie Goodnight, pioneer trail-driver and cattleman, or Comanche chief Quanah Parker, or Billy the Kid. But most of his stories are taken from extraordinary happenings in the lives of ordinary people -- an angel on the running board of a Depression-era rancher's truck, a baby still-born to a young mother alone in a remote dugout on the Plains, the stirring epitaph burned by cowpunchers on a board marking the grave of their young comrade.

More than drawing inspiration from these stories, Andy thoroughly researches each song or poem, making personal pilgrimages to the sites of the events and spending hours in libraries and museums and interviews. His solo acoustic performances are highlighted by his folksy, informative renditions of the stories behind the songs, leaving his audiences both entertained and educated. He is unique in a world of music written for the lowest common denominator.

With a varied background, college and graduate school, a dozen years as a policeman and an equal stretch as a businessman, he now draws his wages as a full-time writer, poet, and performer. He has recorded four albums of music and poetry on the Grey Horse label ("Charlie Goodnight," 1994, "The Road is Still the Road," 1996, "Storyteller," 1998, and "An Ordinary Christmas," 2000).

A wide variety of audiences, venues, and events will find Andy the best choice to entertain, to educate, or to celebrate the American West. Andy has performed for audiences of all sizes in venues ranging from intimate house concerts to huge festivals and national television. More than just an experienced performer, Andy has taught songwriting in seminars as well as long courses, has used his poems, songs, and stories to bring history to life for students of all ages, and has used his original material for specialized presentations for corporate meetings and conventions.

Andy's concert performances are blends of his original songs and poems, interwoven with spontaneous accounts of the stories behind the stories, and about how the pieces came to be written. Each concert has its own unique character, reflecting the makeup of the audience and the specific circumstances of the event. With a large repertoire of original material, Andy can tailor his concert performance to a wide variety of situations.