Andy Hersey - Compañero Blanco

Hidden in southern Arizona, down around Patagonia way, there's some great music, and it's time the rest of the country gets a chance to hear this desert gem. A tight collection of songs seeped in originality, western roots mingled with country rhythm & blues, Andy Hersey simply does not fail to deliver quality in every single note.

Andy Hersey been playing the clubs in southern Arizona for some years, and released "Compañero Blanco" to a small but highly loyal audience of Arizonans who understand and love his work, which is as much a part of this blasted barren and beautiful land as Hersey himself is. A real, honest-to-God working cowboy, Hersey is one of those rare birds, a Native Arizonan, and his music speaks with the voice of the Southwestern Cowboy with raw emotion and regional pride.

The eleven tracks on "Compañero Blanco"are all original, some of them with a touch of biography, others with simple straightforward down-to-earth honesty. Hersey sings with a comfortable, warm tenor, a voice that comes from the heart. The amazing title track, oneof the finest songs I've ever heard, tells a story about ranch hands on the Mexican border; "Cowboy Attitude" is a romp that takes on the rodeo cowboy and his approach to the world; the beautiful "(Next Time) A Diamond Won't Cut It" is about how money does not make for a loving relationship.

Hersey deserves to be seen and heard by a few more folks than just us Arizonans. Recently he played a few gigs in and around the Austin-based South by Southwest festival, expanding his audience, and he's toured with Phoenix band Roger Clyne (the Refreshments) & the Peacemakers. Later in the year he'll be releasing "Between God and Country." Open your ears to Arizona Country. We've got some great stuff down here.