The singing and tenor banjo work of Andy M. Stewart has carried forward the musical traditions of Ireland and Scotland. Once part of Silly Wizard, Stewart pursued further projects through solo releases and collaborations with Manus Lunny, Gerry O'Beirne, and former Silly Wizard colleagues Phil Cunningham and Martin Hadden. Alongside his renditions of traditional Irish and Scottish ballads and the poetry of Robert Burns, he wrote such original pieces as “The Blackbird,” “The Queen of Argylle,” “Golden, Golden,” and “The Ramblin’ Rover.”
Stewart first drew notice in Puddock’s Well, a band he started with Blairgowie High School classmates Martin Hadden, Dougie MacLean, and Kenny Hadden. Rooted in tradition, the group played across the Scottish Highlands and served as the regular act at a folk club in Blairgowie. Their standout show occurred when they opened for Silly Wizard. After graduation the members tried to juggle day jobs with gigs, but the strain proved too great and the band dissolved. Soon afterward Stewart and Hadden received an invitation to join Silly Wizard, where they stayed for twelve years, cut eight albums, and traveled worldwide.
In 1985, during a pause from Silly Wizard, Stewart arranged a tour with keyboard and accordion player Phil Cunningham. An automobile accident kept Cunningham from taking part, so Stewart brought in guitar and bouzouki player Manus Lunny instead. The tour’s strong reception led the pair to continue working together for six years. Their partnership produced two duo albums, contributions to Stewart’s 1990 solo effort At It Again, and the 1985 trio recording Fire in the Glen with Cunningham.
When Lunny’s commitments to Capercaillie increased in the early 1990s, Stewart began collaborating with Irish guitarist and producer Gerry O’Beirne. He has also worked as a freelance technician for Scottish television and film companies.
