Raised in an Irish musical household in Asheville, North Carolina Andrew “Finn the Fiddler” Magill grew up studying with many of the world’s best traditional American and Irish fiddlers at The Swannanoa Gathering music workshops. At age 18, his debut album Drive & Lift was featured multiple times on NPR and his 2016 two-disc project Roots and Branches debuted at #46 on the Folk DJ charts. Says grammy-winner Americana artist Tim O’Brien:
“He has learned from and now plays with the best in the genre. On Branches you can hear a new musical voice emerging. I’m gonna keep listening for Finn Magill.”
Finn has built his career on Irish music having performed with John Doyle, Liz Carroll, the Paul McKenna Band, and Martin Hayes among many other Irish luminaries. He currently has a duo with Irish multi-instrumentalist Dave Curley which performs the festival circuit and concerts all over the U.S. Between this project and more he has performed at Milwaukee Irish Fest, Celtic Connections, the Cleveland Irish Cultural Festival, the Austin Celtic Festival and hundreds of venues.
Finn has also taught Irish fiddle, bluegrass, old-time and Brazilian choro at more than a dozen fiddle camps across the world including: Montana Fiddle Camp, Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival, The Freight & Salvage’s Fiddlekids, O’Flaherty Irish Music Youth Camp, Rocky Mountain Fiddle Camp, The Acadia Trad School, Steve Kaufman’s Acoustic Kamp, The Swannanoa Gathering’s Celtic and Fiddle weeks, Old Songs, and Culture & Projet Stages de Musiques et Danse de Bretagne et du Monde.
In 2014 Finn moved to Rio de Janeiro and plunged head on into Brazilian choro music, studying with some of the most accomplished in the genre including Luís Barcelos, Nicolas Krassik and Pedro Paes. Since then, he has spearheaded several Brazilian projects including choro quartet O Finno, Violino no Choro (a partnership with Brazilian violinist Guilherme Pimenta), and Brazilian Strings Trio a trio with fellow American violinist Ted Falcon and Brazilian guitarist Nando Duarte. In April 2018 the trio released their debut album followed by a sold-out two-week tour along the West coast.
In 2018 Finn also released Canta, Violino! on Ropeadope Records, the product of years of study and performance with Rio’s diverse musicians. Writes Brazilian percussion legend Airto Moreira of Chick Corea and Miles Davis:
“Its nice to see fresh, young musicians carrying on the traditions of Brazilian music. Finn Magill displays a love and authenticity that can fool you into thinking he is from Brazil. His style is playful and light, yet soulful and passionate. Congratulations!”
Magill merges his folk background and more than fifteen years of jazz study with the Brazilian musical language he has spent the last three years studying, all on an instrument seldom associated with Brazilian music: the violin. The result is uncharted territory for both the violin and Brazilian music.