Andrew Ripp

Andrew Ripp creates music that pushes the boundaries of genre stereotypes, blending the energetic beats of pop music into a soul culture and adding the depth and groove of soul music into a pop culture. Since beginning his career in 2005, Ripp's songs and records have successfully impacted a diverse and growing audience including true music lovers: fans that appreciate the nuances of a well crafted album, and easy listeners: fans who simply want to hear a catchy tune.

Having an awe-inspiring voice is one thing, but knowing how to use that voice to share lyrics and emotion in a way that moves those who hear the songs is quite another. Ripp has grown in this over the years as a respected songwriter with the voice of an artist. With his first two albums, Fifty Miles to Chicago in 2008 and She Remains The Same in 2010, debuting at #1 on the Singer/Songwriter chart on iTunes, Andrew proved that he could create a song and share it with emotion and instrumentation.

He began as a songwriter- with a song on the Billboard 100 charts recorded by Ryan Cabrera, and other songs featured on American Idol, One Tree Hill, and Live To Dance, but grew comfortable in the place where his strong and powerful voice was the driving force behind each single. "The good ones," Andrew says, speaking of excellent artists, "they leave space in the songs." And over the last few years, Andrew has learned that skill. Having moved to Nashville with his wife at the encouragement of fellow musician and mentor Dave Barnes, Andrew settled into the songwriting town and began to hone his talents and grow as an artist, musician, and songwriter.

Won't Let Go, his most recent full-band album released in 2013, blends the work of Andrew in all his roles with many other award-winning musicians, songwriters, as well as award-winning producer Charlie Peacock (Civil Wars, Switchfoot) and engineer/mixer Richie Biggs.

On the heels of the success of Won't Let Go, which debuted at #3 on the Singer-Songwriter chart when it was released early last year to rave reviews, Ripp has made a stripped down acoustic album entitled Simple on Be Music & Entertainment. Simple features acoustic versions of ten tracks from Won't Let Go as well as a cover of Justin Timberlake's "Mirrors," which has become a crowd favorite out on the road. It is clear with every stripped down note on Simple that Andrew Ripp is an incredible talent worthy of all the buzz around him as an up and coming artist to watch in 2014.

"Simple is more to me than just the title of this record and tour," Ripp explains, "It's the filter I've been striving to live my entire life through. It's putting down the iPhone, closing the computer, turning off the TV and just sitting still. Distractions can be very convincing and they have a way of making me believe that they're more important than having a conversation with a human being. The process of making this record has really helped me to focus my time on the important things in life."

As a touring artist, Andrew's live performances continue to move the audience in just the right ways- quieting them at the most heart-felt moments and causing dance at just the right beat. Crowds don't want him to leave the stage when the show is over, and he's not sure he's ready to leave either. He has opened for and toured with the likes of with Jon Foreman, needtobreathe, Will Hoge and Robert Randolph. 2013 included tour stops with Andy Grammer, Sara Bareilles, Parachute, LeAnn Rimes and Plain White T's and Ripp continues to book dates around the country. "I've been touring for the last few years and a lot of my shows have been stripped down - solo style and simple," said Ripp. "After having a bunch of people ask me after shows when I was going to make an acoustic record I decided to do just that. This is my way of saying I HEAR YOU, I LOVE YOU and THANK YOU SO MUCH for supporting me over the years!"