… “Andru Bemis, hailing from South Haven, Mich., opened the evening at 7 p.m. and thrilled the audience for about an hour.

Bemis’ songs were story-like. He had great stage presence and a good sense of humor.

To top that, Bemis was a wizard on the acoustic guitar, fiddle and banjo.

Bemis, 35, travels from show to show via public transportation, most often using buses, trains or even hitchhiking.

I had the chance to interview him Sunday.

Bemis had high praise for the Dirtsandwich Music Co.

“It’s beautiful,” he said. “And what really sets it part [sic] is it’s about music. It’s not about beer or food, with music in the background. What they are selling is music. It’s really rare to find that.”

In the early to mid-2000s, Bemis would play 150-200 shows per year.

From 2007 to 2011, he concentrated mainly on a venue (Foundry Hall) in South Haven, which is a non-profit, all-ages community center and performance venue.

Now, he’s back to playing at least 150 concerts annually.

Bemis said he’s been playing violin since he was 3 or 4 years old. He added the acoustic guitar to his repertoire about 1995 and then picked up the banjo in 2003.

Bemis had a great time playing Sunday for the Norwalk audience.

“I thought it was great,” he said. “It was a good time and that’s what it is all about.”

Bemis will return to Dirtsandwich on May 9.” …. – Scott Seitz, Entertainment, Norwalk County Reflector [Norwalk, OH]