Andy began learning the pipes around 1987 having been introduced to the instrument by his father a year earlier. Both initially learned, and have continued to learn, under the patient guidance of Roland Lofthouse of Ryton, (himself a pupil of Jack Armstrong), for both technique and good taste, drawing from his vast repertoire of tunes from Northumberland, Scotland and Ireland. Before long, Adrian Schofield from Bolton showed an interest in the young Andy's playing, and it was from these two men that Andy has probably learned the most. It was Adrian who first introduced Andy to the excitement of the playing of Billy Pigg.

He considers himself very fortunate to have met and played with many of the great Northumbrian musicians spanning several generations and to have deepened his understanding of the music through their encouragement. To this end, the musical evenings held in the home of Annie Snaith proved both inspirational and invaluable to Andy. He would now attribute much of his style to Roland, Adrian, Billy Pigg and Tom Clough, although he has been influenced, directly and indirectly, by a host of other players. Andy won his first piping competition at the age of 10 and has gone on to become a regular winner at piping competitions around Northumberland. This has included an unprecedented 9 consecutive wins of the Northumbrian Pipers' Society Open Competition, although now he is more commonly found on the other side of the judges' table. He is also in demand as a teacher of the pipes having tutored on courses around the U.K. and also in the U.S.A. In addition to his adeptness at playing the pipes, Andy also makes them.

Andy joined well-known folk band Jez Lowe and the Bad Pennies in 2002, but had worked with the band prior to his official joining by rehearsing and recording several tracks of the CD, Honesty Box. He had also stepped in as the fourth band member at numerous gigs during early Spring of 2002, including the Honesty Box Launch Party in Newcastle. Bringing a whole new dimension to the band, with his Northumbrian smallpipes, accordion and whistles, this multi-instrumentalist has quickly expanded from being a sought-after session player for the likes of Kathryn Tickell, to a valued member of a live performance band. The band have recently released a new album, Doolally, to much critical acclaim.

When not playing with the Bad Pennies, Andy plays with The Braykes, a lively jazz/funk/folk fusion band, and with Baltic Crossing, an acclaimed Finland/UK folk music collaboration. He also plays jazz piano and Irish Uilleann Pipes. He teaches the Northumbrian Smallpipes to a wide age range.

He is now based in Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK.