Andy Leftwich "Big Mon" (on Mandolin) 

Andy Leftwich really tore this one up ! What an incredible talent !

Andy Leftwich is amazing!

Im a canadian kid, with an American mother. I finally see the blood in me. GOD I LOVE this song!!!!!

What AWESOME talent there is out there!! Some of the comments/arguments on this thread remind me of the "how many angels can sit on the head of a pin" argument...WHO CARES...THEY'RE ANGELS!! Seems to me it doesn't matter who's talent or genius is greater, my ears are blessed with both!!

Andy Leftwich is my idol.

They are both GREAT mando players. Thile is just moving on to a different level and style than any other mandolin player.

awesome video, to think Leftwich plays "fiddle" for Skaggs. what an amazing talent!

obviously taught by one of the best...skaggs n kentucky thunder is one of the best bluegrass bands out there today

my sincerest apologies for you to have to listen to an improperly titled song... glad that was the extent of your enjoyment....i'll not post any of the other Andy videos that I have

I'd love to have a do over with the guitar louder of course. I just love when pros mesh like this. Andy has played it faster I'm sure, but no need. Thanks to all involved.

Thile's one of my favorite mandolinists but for hard driving bluegrass he doesn't have the touch that Andy gives with his own band as well as with Kentucky Thunder. Thile is a great acoustic player all together and a virtuoso at the mandolin. Just my opinion though.

yes, he really did. I guess you would prefer for the video to be taken down so that you do not have to suffer through it or do you just like to criticize everything

this is some seriously hot pickin. Andy's second break is ABSURD.

Please continue to post any Andy Leftwich videos that you might have and please do not let the callous words posted by someone prevent you from doing so!

Who cares who is a little better...they are both amaaazing

Not sure why 13 or ANY people would dislike this... jealousy? Yeah. Probably.

Andy is an amazing mandolinist, but I wouldn't say he is better than Thile. If you listen to what Andy is playing you can hear many riffs that Thile has been doing well before he became under the national light. Many people do not understand musically what Thile is doing. But that is because he is on a level most will never reach. His musical knowledge and ability is far beyond most muscians.

whoo hoo! And "burn it" he does!

@frmertd not to be rude but he can, he did on his solo album deceiver which he played every instrument, there were 40 instruments on that album and he played them all, he is a musicc god

This is great! Chris Thile has nothing on Andy Leftwich and Rob Ickes is THE dobro player against whom all others are measured. Where was this filmed?

Agree 100 percent

@plm3332 He was also nominated for a Grammy for engineering & production on this album.

Guys like Thile , O'Connor , Fleck or Meyer , in IMHO shouldn't be even compared , for besides the study , I guess there's natural born geniusness when it comes to music. It's virtuosity to another level , beyond technique . That does not mean other players can't reach a high level of mastery through study , but then to compare it is not just fair.

Very well said. Leftwich is fantastic, but Thile was ripping these licks when he was about 14 years old. Thile's ear is all over the map and he says so much more on the Mandolin than anyone that I've heard thus far. His compositions are incredible, especially his Punch brothers material. It blows my mind sometimes!

Yeah thats Good Picking ,more

Big fan of the B part when andy goes around the second time. I'm going to copy it at a much slower speed.

I couldn't agree more with the comment below this one! But Andy is still rediculous.

He's playing one inversion of A way louder than anyone else. Criticism loses its power when you get the facts wrong.

what mandolin does andy have

hhooo! is better that I don't look this video , because I lost to feel like doing mandolin exercise !

As much as I'd like to disagree, you are right... Chris Identity as a mandolinist seemed to dissolve after "Not all who wander are lost". His collaboration with Edgar Meyer demonstrates technical genius, but his identity is lost in this artistic 'pushing the boundaries' expansion. It would be great if the Chris Thile we once knew reemerged.

@johnathandodd I know the guitarist casually as he lives about 30 minutes from me. He got a bum mic for this as he's a really good guitarist. True, he's not Cody Kilby good but this video really does him a disservice. He's a heck of a singer too.

He is so hot omg and wow what woman would not fall for that talent.....

the guitars are not loud enough on this vid. Andy is awesome and the other dudes, who are not mentioned in the title, sound good too but the guy on the mixer sux.

420

Rob Ickes is the "next" Jerry Douglas? There's a reason why Ickes is the most sought after dobro player around and winner of IBMA dobro player of the year 10 times. Ickes leapt over that bar years ago. Also, Thile has nothing on Leftwich, period. Both are fantastic mandolin players but have you listened to Thile's stuff lately? Unfortunately, the guitarist in this clip got a bum mike or sound man as I've heard him play live a number of times and this video doesn't do him justice at all.

Chris Thile has plenty on Andy.Don't get me wrong, Andy Leftwich is fantastic and on of the better known deity status players, but he is no Thile... Not until he diverges a bit. He is technically awesome and plays bluegrass with a bit more authority than Chris... Robe Ickes is the "next" Jerry Douglas... but agreed, Jerry set the bar years ago...

Leftwich is incredible but you can't seriously compare him to Thile. In this song he is playing Thile's licks that Thile whipped out when he was a teenager. Thile's compositional improvisation is leagues above this stuff now. Thile is technically and creatively better than Leftwich in every way. Leftwich is still a monster though, I'm not taking away from how talented he is. Those saying that Thile only plays mandolin are misinformed. Thile plays other instruments as well, he started out on guitar and switched to mandolin. He plays bazookie, and he played every instrument on his solo album Deceiver. On Deceiver he plays mandolin, mandola, bass guitar, electric guitar, violin, and various percussion instruments amazingly.

Great piece of picking. Why all the whinny bitch stuff below? Music isn't a competition. Marty Stuart is never even mentioned as a great mandolin player and you can bet your last dollar he sure is. It's all good folks.

What an incredible waste of time this argument is!! When you are talking about this level of talent, it's impossible to determine who's better. Both are world class musicians, and each could do anything the other can do, but I prefer Andy's style over any of the fruity stuff that Thile plays. I can't afford all the pot it would take for me to enjoy it.

Thile's a good mandolinist but not a good bluegrass musician.

This is very one dimensional. Not one lick I haven't heard before. Whatever, the guy can play.. too bad he didn't lay back on the mike when the other guys were soloing, he totally drowned them out. "yeah man, you take it while I play my one inversion of D way louder than everybody!"