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GRAFTON - Stop by the Grafton Winery on Saturday, Nov. 18, 2023, for a three-hour performance by 2022 Atlanta Blues Festival winner Drew Ashworth.
From 5–8 p.m., Drew will play covers and original songs with blues, jazz and country influences. This performance will follow the Winery’s Sip & Sign event hosted by Angela Ashworth, Drew’s wife. He encourages people to enjoy the American Sign Language event and a glass of wine before an evening of classic blues music and “a real chill vibe."
“I’m lucky because I got my calling really, really early in life and I kind of always knew this was what I’m supposed to do,” Drew said. “The music that I’m making these days, I like to call it y’allternative, because it’s got a little bit of everything. It’s got a little bit of neo-soul, it’s got a little bit of jazz, blues, but there’s also a heavy dose of country and southern rock-n-roll in it. And that’s my being me, who I am. I can’t be anybody else.”
Drew has been drawn to music since he was a toddler. He gained attention early on after a youth choir performance of “Silent Night,” which he joked “really knocked them out.” For most of his childhood and teenage years, he experimented with different sounds, instruments and recording techniques.
In 2022, all eyes were on him after he was crowned the winner at the Atlanta Blues Festival. He went on to compete at the International Blues Challenge on Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee, which he called “an honor.”
These days, Drew is signed to Emanant Music Group and splits his time between performing at gigs, playing as a “hired gun” guitarist for Atlanta musicians, and recording his own music. While he has a deep love for the blues, he promises a setlist that satisfies everyone on Nov. 18, 2023.
“When I write my own songs and I’m going to record things and put them out under my name, they tend to be kind of bluesy, but I don’t like to get boxed in, either,” he added.
This is partly why Drew believes it’s so important for artists to know who they are. He pointed out that you can still be a successful musician, but recording artists need this self-awareness to create their own work if they want it to be powerful.
“All artists are trying to communicate a message,” he explained. “[If] you want to be an artist and you want to write your own songs and you want to record songs and put them out there as a recording artist, it’s pretty important that you nail down who exactly you are before you get started, because if there’s anything I’ve learned, you can’t really fake your way into it. You’ve got to be true to yourself, or else other people will see through it pretty quickly. Besides, you’re doing yourself a huge disservice if you’re not representing who you are as a person in the music that you’re creating.”
Drew will share himself as well as his music from 5–8 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 18, 2023 at the Grafton Winery Brewhaus, located at 300 W. Main Street in Grafton. Visit Drew’s official website at DrewAshworth.com to learn more about his work. You can check out the details about the Sip & Sign event at this article on RiverBender.com.
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