Article Contributed by Mountain Home Music Company
Published on November 29, 2025
“Every once in a while,” says acclaimed fiddler and mandolin player Andy Leftwich, “you sit down with your instrument, a melody just falls out and, within a few minutes, you have a fun catchy melody! This is exactly what happened to me with this song.”
Leftwich is talking about “Old Hickory,” his latest single for Mountain Home Music Company and a follow-up to his popular “Tom and Jerry,” a Texas-style tune that’s landed repeatedly on the bluegrass airplay charts since its mid-summer release. And he’s right — it’s a catchy number with a classic fiddle tune construction and a Celtic flavor, executed to perfection from its spirited fiddle-and-guitar opening to its sizzling finale. And though it’s barely the length of a good song, there’s ample room for Leftwich and his colleagues — banjo phenom Matt Menefee (Mumford & Sons, Mountain Heart), bassist Byron House (Nickel Creek, Robert Plant’s Band of Joy) and two-time IBMA Guitar Player of the Year, Cody Kilby (Travelin’ McCourys) — to navigate its twists and turns, shaded by their own creativity and masterful technique.
“Even though it’s a fiddle tune, I actually wrote it on my guitar,” notes Leftwich. “After a few small changes to the melody, I finally landed on something that flowed well under the fingers — not only for the fiddle, but the lead guitar part as well. I was honored to have my good friend, Cody Kilby, take the lead guitar on this one! It’s so much fun to play and was named after Old Hickory, a town near where I live.”
“Old Hickory” is streaming in Dolby Atmos spatial audio on Apple Music, Amazon Music and TIDAL. Listen to it HERE.
About Andy Leftwich
Four-time GRAMMY®-winning instrumentalist Andy Leftwich began playing the fiddle at the age of six, entering his first contest at seven and winning the National Championship for Beginners at the age of twelve. By the time he was a teenager, he had appeared on the Grand Ole Opry and “Music City Tonight” with Crook and Chase, and had established a reputation as a winning contest fiddler throughout the Southeast. At 15, he capped off his contest career by winning Winfield, Kansas’s Walnut Valley Old Time Fiddle Championship, one of the most prestigious contests in the country. At the same time, with mandolin and guitar added to his arsenal, Andy began playing professionally, and before he finished his teens, he had joined Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder in 2001. wIn addition to 2005’s solo album, Ride, Andy has recorded two critically acclaimed albums as a member of Three Ring Circle (with dobro player Rob Ickes and bassist Dave Pomeroy), and built an impressive list of studio credits as one of Nashville’s top session players.
