We recently connected with Andrew Benson and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Andrew, thanks for joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

I started a traveling songwriter series in West Virginia in 2022 called Songs & Stories WV. That show was been pivotal in giving original music a home in WV.

As a songwriter myself, I always imagine what a perfect show would be like for me to play so I decided to create that space. In a place where music has always typically catered to the cover band crowd it becomes a struggle to feel represented as a songwriter when many of the venues want party or background, cover music..

The show, which we book regionally inside the state, has become a talking point among writers in West Virginia for several reasons. In a writers round format, we allow artists to showcase and promote their music live and uncensored in a very intimate setting.

This gives artists extra time and opportunities to promote themselves and relate to their listening audience on a much more personal level.

The show then evolved into a podcast in 2024. The podcast, “Songs & Stories WV Podcast” which can be found on most major streaming platforms, gives me the freedom to interview full bands and musical creatives of all genres and styles in a conversational format that can be consumed by the average listener anywhere and any time.

I strive to give WV musical creatives a platform to promote themselves any way possible and it’s become a passionate pursuit of mine to really help drive original music in WV.

Andrew, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a country music singer/songwriter, band leader, producer and booker in West Virginia. My journey into music started young with my exposure to live music on Sunday mornings at church. My grandmother and her sister played guitar and my Grandma Connie tried teaching me when I was 10.

A short attention span and cheap guitar problems caused me to break from music until I was around 19 when I picked up a harmonica and another guitar and ended up stepping into a supporting rhythm guitarist position for a local cover band.

This was my true introduction to live music performance and after gigging on and off with several bands for around 10 years I decided I was very unfulfilled with playing music In didn’t create so I started writing and performing music of my own.

This passion for songwriting lead me down the rabbit hole of writers to the likes of Guy Clark, Townes Van Zandt, John Prine and Kris Kristofferson. I realized that I wanted to be involved in something that really affected my every day life in thoughts and mood and began existence. I needed to find my way into that musical circle that my heroes had found in their own lives.

After things started to open back up from COVID I began to perform again, but this time, playing my own songs, this leap led me into a world of writers who shared the same thoughts and passions as I do. I have spent a lot of time and energy getting to know these folks and have started to forge myself a spot in the community I wanted to help build for myself and others like me here in WV.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

Show up. In a world that consumed so much art and entertainment constantly, don’t forget to slow down and show up for the people you care about. Everyone lives in 2 realities, one in life and one abstract in social media.

Artists love when you share and like online but we remember every single face in the crowd when it comes time to hit the stage and pour out our hearts. Every one of the world’s greatest entertainers started out local.

Some of the best shows I’ve ever seen have been free or a $5 cover. Art is meant to be experienced, just show up.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

For me, personally, I don’t have much of a mission or goal other than to leave as much of a mark on this world as I can. I want to know I lived a life worth living and to let others know that they can as well. Many of the people who have influenced my life are ones I’ve never met. If I can have a legacy that inspires someone else to be the best version of themselves, even if it’s just one single person in my life, then I can rest peacefully when it’s my time to go.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/ambenson
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/badmagickman?igsh=MWNoNXp0MnYxdGxvZw%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/19TYe1bRw2/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Image Credits

TZM Photo