Andrew Calhoun

“Andrew Calhoun is among the most fearless, gifted, and avante poets of our time, keeping company with Leonard Cohen, Galway Kinnell, etc, and he shows no sign of slowing down.” ~ Anais Mitchell

Andrew Calhoun releases a retrospective set of original songs on "Different Now".

Andrew Calhoun presents a legacy recording of 20 poetic songs written over a span of 45 years. The themes progress from youthful concerns to the challenges of age. "Different Now" represents Andrew’s “collaboration with my younger self. Some of these songs were composed 45 years ago, here I put a sterner shine on the music and recast a wayward word or two”.

Six songs are recorded for the 1st time, while the rest of the early and middle period songs are significantly reworked: “Water Street”, a secular spiritual, was the title track of Calhoun’s debut album on Hogeye Records in 1983. “Heavy Log” is an elegy for Chicago songwriter James McCandless, written in the wake of his death in 2013, “Renaissance Land” was inspired by 'Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee' by Dee Brown. Howard Levy contributes harmonica parts to both of these.

Tracy Grammer plays violin on "No Secret Castle" and the dream like “Grandfather's Time", Eli Broxham adds bass to 4 songs, Chris Vallillo contributes electric slide guitar to "Heavy Log”, Andrew’s daughter Casey Calhoun sings on 3 tracks, with Sue Demel from Sons Of The Never Wrong joining her on "Look Away”.

Andrew plays acoustic and classical guitars. "Different Now" was recorded and mixed by Jim Massoth at Crystall Recorders in Lombard, IL, from September 2022 to April 2024. Tracy Grammer designed the cover, featuring art by Rossa Crean.

Andrew Calhoun was born in New Haven, CT, in 1957, and raised in Long Branch, NJ, and Glen Ellyn, IL. With the exception of 5 years in Portland, Oregon, he has spent his adult life in the Chicago area. He recorded 2 LP's for Flying Fish Records in the 1980's.

He founded and operated Waterbug, an artists’ cooperative folk label from 1992 to 2019. His discography includes 10 recordings of original songs, including "Where Blue Meets Blue", "Phoenix Envy" and "Tiger Tattoo". His work with folk songs is represented by 'Rhymer’s Tower', 'Ballads Of The Anglo Scottish Border', 'Bound To Go', 'Folk Songs & Spirituals'.

His books include 'Twenty Four Poems', 'The Trilogy Trilogy' and 'Warlock Rhymer : An English Translation Of Robert Burns’ Scots Poems, published by Artemis Books in 2017.

"Skeins", a duo recording with his daughter Casey, was released in 2018. The release of "Different Now" coincides with Calhoun’s return to performing following several years of caregiving for family.