Andrew Finn Magill

Andrew Finn Magill (he/him) began learning the fiddle at age ten, but he has been surrounded by traditional music his entire life. His parents are both musicians, and his father, Jim Magill, founded the Swannanoa Gathering music education program at Warren Wilson College in North Carolina. Attending the gathering every summer, Finn was able to learn from noted fiddlers from around the country.  

Finn’s musical community, however, extends beyond the Swannanoa Gathering, where he would go on to work as a staff member. “It's hard to think of a force in my community stronger than old-time music,” Finn says. He names Phil Jamison and John Hermann of the New Southern Ramblers as two of his mentors, as well as a community of peers who play together in Asheville. “As I grow older,” Finn describes, “my community of old-time musicians seems to be ever-widening and transcends geographical borders. Appalachian music has traveled well beyond Appalachia, but the idea of Appalachia and the significance of its place to this music [goes with it]. Be it Glasgow or Seattle, when we play this music, it always feels as if we're in the Appalachian Mountains.”  

Finn learns new fiddle tunes primarily by ear and has been a teacher himself for fifteen years. He has delivered lessons on old-time fiddle techniques, tunes, and cultural history throughout the United States and internationally. For his Emerging Traditional Artists Program learning opportunity, Finn will travel around Western North Carolina, interviewing other fiddlers, especially community elders, and documenting their repertoires. He hopes to develop the material he collects into educational tools, to bring the musicians’ wealth of knowledge to new audiences. 

“Now more than ever,” Finn says, “we need to document these people's lives, record their music, and hear their stories so that future generations can understand the people responsible for passing this music on to the subsequent generations… Its cultural importance is truly immeasurable.”