Andrea Whitt, pedal steel guitar and fiddle player to the stars, heads out on a European tour with Moby (Play25: 1999-2024 tour) this month and has been in touring bands with dozens of the world’s biggest artists across all genres such as Shania Twain, Jelly Roll, Stevie Wonder and Zucchero to name a few.
Now in the pilot seat, Whitt has released her dark and delightfully dreamy version of the 1959 Santo and Johnny classic “Sleepwalk”.Andrea Whitt is breaking the mold and kicking down boundaries as one of the rare female pedal steel players in the U.S and the world.
Whitt states, “I recorded “Sleepwalk” because not only is it one of the most iconic melodies ever played on steel guitar but I was also getting lots of requests to perform it live and release my own version of it. This song has such a strong sense of nostalgia but for me I also feel empowered when I perform it because it touches an audience that spans all generations. It’s truly timeless.”
BIO:
As an international touring artist on fiddle and pedal steel, Andrea Whitt will be joiningMoby in Europe this September on his first tour in ten years. She has also toured with country megastar Shania Twain, Italian rocker Zucchero, country artist/rapper Struggle Jennings opening for Jelly Roll, and an exclusive VIP experience performance on the Dead and Company tour. This year Andrea stepped out from her long time role as a side musician and produced her first solo show where Robby Krieger from The Doors joined her on stage as a special guest. She was also recently a guest performer with the well-known jam band, Blues Tra
Andrea has performed at many of the world’s top amphitheaters, arenas and theaters, and has shared stages with high-profile artists across all genres. Her credits include Journey, Ariana Grande, Moby, Kamasi Washington, KYGO, Deep Purple, Stevie Wonder, Cee-Lo Green, One Republic, Natalie Cole, John Legend, Halsey, Harry Connick Jr., Phil Lesh, Jelly Roll, BB Rexha, 30 Seconds to Mars, and Allison Wonderland. Last fall she joined the house band for the CMT show ‘Smashing Glass’ where she performed with Clint Black, Chris Jensen, Lucy Silvas. Andrea has also recorded on many acclaimed albums, including Kendrick Lamar’s Grammy Award-winning To Pimp a Butterfly, Kendrick Lamar’s Damn, Kamasi Washington’s The Epic and Harmony of Difference, Zucchero’s Black Cat Live, Stu Hamm’s Hold Fast, Blxst, Katie Gavin of Muna, and a PBS special with Shania Twain.
Locally in Los Angeles, Andrea performs with Chan Kinchla from Blues Traveler, and bass virtuoso Stu Hamm (Steve Vai, Joe Satriani).
Andrea received her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in Viola Performance at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. While she was classically trained on viola since age nine, her passion for improvisation began in college where she performed in a Brazilian jazz ensemble and studied intensely under top jazz pedagogues.
One of a small number of female pedal steel players in the world, Andrea was inspired to learn the instrument while playing in Shania Twain’s band. “I was playing fiddle and viola, and I just kept watching the pedal steel player play during rehearsals. I was totally intrigued,” she recalls. Andrea’s rigorous musical training meant that learning a new instrument came naturally, as she spent the next few months teaching herself to play pedal steel by transcribing Jerry Garcia’s parts on ‘Workingman’s Dead.’ A longtime fan of the Grateful Dead, Andrea has since built a fan base of Deadheads from her performances in the jam band scene, and with her Steel Your Face Sundays series of Grateful Dead covers on YouTube. This series has been featured on Sirius XM’s Grateful Dead channel.
Set for August 2024, Andrea Whitt’s next release is “Sleepwalk,” her take on the classic song by Santo & Johnny. Andrea’s version dark, dreamy and ethereal, and sounds like what you’d get if Lana Del Rey played pedal steel. The “Sleepwalk” video was shot at the historic Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo. Since most of her work is as a hired performer with other artists, when she has a release of her own, Andrea puts time and care into every facet of her artistry including styling her own wardrobe, artistic direction, and merch designs.
Determined and eager to explore new facets of creativity, Andrea wants her life to feel like the non-stop expression of Interlochen Arts Camp she went to growing up. In addition to music, she’s a lifelong visual artist, having started drawing and painting when she was a toddler. Andrea is regularly commissioned for paintings in her signature ink and watercolor and oil painting styles. Much of her work can be found on her site, Boho Bunnie, which started as a fashion blog with recognition from press such as Marie Clare, Britt & Co and Free People. Modeling for the camera has “a similar type of energy” to performing on stage. The Boho Bunnie blog is morphing into a lifestyle brand, which produces products that inspire and encapsulate the fun, sexy, and expressive bohemian in all of us. She’s now hard at work building the Boho Bunnie brand, which includes art prints, merch she has designed, fashion and a perfume line.
Outside of her own artistic endeavors, Andrea also teaches private lessons on viola, fiddle, and pedal steel. She has always held music education in high regard and in the past has conducted and directed many youth orchestras and ensembles. “I think it’s important as a musician or someone who’s in the arts, if you have time and if you’re good at it, it’s good to give back. I find it rewarding to do that.”
