Andrew Tufano is an 18 year old Singer/Songwriter from Sterling, VA, currently based in Nashville, TN. Nobody in his immediate family is a professional musician, and nobody strongly encouraged the undying pursuit of a music career that sprouted in his youth. Fueled by passion and guided by parents, teachers, fans, and the internet, Andrew has relentlessly written, recorded, and performed music as long as he remembers. Booking every gig, designing and purchasing a myriad of creative promotion products, incessantly networking and building relationships with fans, and developing an entrepreneurial business sense throughout high school, Andrew has proven to his family and friends that he is more than a boy with a dream, but rather an artist with determination, ability, and a vision.
Winning a variety of awards since being a first place winner of the NAfME electronic music talent search at age 11, Andrew has been playing the piano since 2003, and since then has learned bits and pieces of the guitar, ukulele, accordion, drum set, saxophone, french horn, harmonica, and whatever else he can put his hands on. He is always experimenting with jazz, blues, soul, folk, and occasional electronic inspirations, synthesizing a variety of influences while songwriting, fashioning a multifaceted pop blend of material reminiscent of John Mayer or Ed Sheeran.
As a 16-year-old, Andrew wrote and recorded his first EP titled Right Where We Should Be. Working with producer Jim Ebert of Cue Studios, drummer Derek Lee, and bassist Aaron Cavanagh, the 4-song EP was recorded in three days during late March 2012. The song Little Kid Life won gold in the pop category of the 29th Mid Atlantic Song Contest. Later that year, he attended Berklee College of Music’s 5-Week summer camp and auditioned into the bluegrass ensemble, the performing singer-songwriter showcase, and a $10,000/year scholarship to the school. During this time, he also entered CD Baby’s Songwriting Contest online, and was awarded one of 5 honorable mentions out of 2075 applicants.
At 17, Andrew wrote and recorded a second 5-song EP, Dotted Lines, under the same producer and sound engineer with drummer Andy Hamburger and bassist Eric Scott. The EP was part of Andrew's first musical long-term charity project, with proceeds going to VH1 Save The Music Foundation. In between writing, recording, and occasionally high school, he played in the pit orchestra for local productions of Little Shop of Horrors and Working, helped raise several thousand dollars by headlining at a student-run benefit concert supporting El Refugio in Costa Rica, and touring Connecticut and Manhattan with friend and cowriter Brooke Tomlinson. After collaborating on songs over Skype for years, it was fulfilling for both members of the ad hoc duet to reunite and check gigging at a certain famous venue, The Bitter End, off both of their musical bucket lists.
O ver the years, Andrew's philanthropic tendencies surfaced through a variety of charitable endeavors. Benefit concerts he has performed at include Hearts for the Horn, Ice out Hunger, Stick It to Sarcoma, International Justice Mission tailgates and banquets, Run Me Home 10k, Adventist Rehab Hospital, Dulles Plane Pull Fundraisers, PinkJams Under 40 Music Marathon, Wave of Change benefiting El Refugio in Costa Rica, Cancer Can Rock, Laps for Leukemia, and a variety of performances for Dominion High School fundraisers. Andrew is also currently in the registration process for Musicians on Call in Nashville.
Consistently appearing at Virginia/DC venues (such as Ned Devines, Tally Ho!, Hard Rock Café DC, Jammin’ Java, street corners, alone in his basement, etc.), and recently touring the northeast for several days, Andrew loves performing as much as writing music. When he isn’t writing or busking, he regularly teaches piano lessons to neighborhood youngsters for some monetary support necessary to buy all the equipment (this includes thrift shop attire and snack food) associated with his enterprise.
As a recent high school graduate, Andrew looks forward to a successful freshman year at Belmont University in 2013-2014 where he will study songwriting and pursue performance opportunities in Nashville, Tennessee. He continues to pursue his passion by embracing different instruments, experimenting with fresh sounds, engaging new friends and fans, and duct-taping his equipment together (not sure how much longer his guitar case will make it). As his fan base rapidly accumulates outside the boundaries of his hometown and his internet presence expands, Andrew aspires to take his energy and his mustached guitar on the road and tour more of the East Coast in the near future. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.
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