Andy Falco

Andy Falco, a member of the Infamous Stringdusters, is a flatpicking guitarist, producer, singer, and songwriter. Before joining the band, he played and/or recorded with the Water Street Blues Band, Buddy Merriam, Alecia Nugent, and Bradley Walker. Falco's debut solo, Sentenced to Life with the Blues, appeared on FGM in 2007 (the recording arm of Flatpicking Guitar Magazine), during the same year the Infamous Stringdusters issued their debut, Fork in the Road. Between 2008 and 2021, Falco worked the road and in the studio with his band, balancing their intense touring and recording schedules with solo shows and collaborations including 2008's Novemberin', a sampler showcasing superchopper guitarists that included Shuggie Otis. In 2019, he collaborated with bandmate Chris Pandolfi and Aaron Kaplan on Founding Fathers: Big Valley. Falco released the acclaimed The Will of the Way, his second album on Americana Vibes in 2021. In 2023, he and his bass-playing bandmate Travis Book released the live Falco & Book Play Jerry Garcia, and followed it almost immediately with the collaborative Folkin' Amazing with Dusty Trales. In addition to the Infamous Stringdusters, Falco plays alongside his mentor and brother Tom Falco in the Falco Brothers. Falco grew up in a music-loving home in Long Island, New York and learned to play the guitar from his older brother. He began his musical career playing lead guitar and singing with the Northeast-based Water Street Blues Band until 1999. Still based in New York, he joined Buddy Merriam & Backroads in 2000, as lead guitarist and singer. He stayed until 2004 when he relocated to Nashville. He played in Alecia Nugent's band on 2006's A Little Girl...A Big Four-Lane and with Bradley Walker on Highway of Dreams the same year. He also replaced founding guitarist Chris Eldridge in the Infamous Stringdusters. The band issued its debut, Fork in the Road, on Sugar Hill in January 2007 and hit the road for a few months. That fall, Falco released Sentenced to Life with the Blues, his first album. While the band resumed touring, Falco booked solo shows to play during travel breaks. His album won an abundance of positive reviews. He got more session and live work with artists ranging from Malibu Storm and Vanessa Carlton to David Amram and Levon Helm. As the Stringdusters became a full-time recording and touring concern circling the U.S., Canada, and Europe, Falco occasionally guested with others but had no time to record on his own. An EP, Founding Fathers: Big Valley, was recorded with banjo-playing bandmate Chris Pandolfi and roots guitarist Aaron Kaplan; it appeared on Extreme Music in 2020. The following year, Infamous Stringdusters issued the studio album Silver Sky. It was overshadowed six months later by the release of Falco's sophomore outing The Will of the Way. The album won international critical notice and boasted the singles "Stones Unturned" and "The Edge." Among his session players were drummer/percussionist Joe Russo, bassist Patrick Falco, banjoist Cody Kilby, and backing vocalists Erica Leigh and Joe Preddice. In 2023, Falco teamed with the Stringdusters' singing bassist Travis Book to record the live six-song EP Falco & Brook Play Jerry Garcia.
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