Andrew Small is an award-winning multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, and composer who makes his home in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Southwest Virginia. He travels the world fronting the traditional bluegrass band The Alum Ridge Boys & Ashlee and performing old time country music as half of the duo Ashlee Watkins & Andrew Small. Originally from Eastern North Carolina, Andrew holds a master’s degree in music performance from Yale University and has performed around the world with artists including Sierra Hull, Mandolin Orange, and the North Carolina Symphony. From 2018-2023 he toured with Bill and the Belles and also played bass in the house band for the PBS television show Farm and Fun Time.
An avid proponent of traditional music styles from the Blue Ridge region, Andrew had the honor of serving as the inaugural Artist-In-Residence for The Crooked Road - Virginia's Heritage Music Trail. In 2022, he completed a Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship with master fiddler and National Heritage Award-recipient Eddie Bond of Fries, VA. Andrew's prowess as a singer, old time fiddler, banjo player, mandolinist, guitarist, and bassist has won him countless prizes at contests and festivals around the world, and his bands have won first place in old time and bluegrass categories at the most celebrated fiddlers' conventions in the South, including those in Galax, VA and Mount Airy, NC. In 2025, Andrew was awarded first place in the old time fiddle contest at the Appalachian String Band Festival in Clifftop, WV, and his string band The New Floyd County Ramblers also won first place in the traditional band category.
In 2021, Andrew was awarded first prize in the bluegrass category for his song "Yesterday's Blues" at the 29th Annual MerleFest Chris Austin Songwriting Contest. His original music has been featured on recording projects, podcasts, film, television, and radio. In collaboration with teams from the Duke University Center for Documentary Studies and the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media at George Mason University, Andrew and his partner Ashlee Watkins composed theme music and recorded soundtracks for the PBS documentary film Rock Castle Home and for the podcast The Green Tunnel.
In 2022, Andrew collaborated with the Virginia Department of Education as a special project consultant and content expert for the Southwest Virginia Music and Culture Institute. He has taught for the Bluegrass, Old-Time, and Roots Music program at East Tennessee State University and recently joined the teaching faculty at Ferrum College.
