Andrew Belle is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 singer-songwriter

Singer-songwriter

Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...

. Andrew (born Drew Fortson) is originally from Wheaton, Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

. Andrew moved to Nashville in 2009. He grew up listening to bands like Third Eye Blind

Third Eye Blind

Third Eye Blind is an American alternative rock band formed in the early 1990s in San Francisco. The songwriting duo of Kevin Cadogan and Stephan Jenkins signed the band's first major label recording contract with Elektra records in 1996 resulting in two multi platinum albums. The band's lineup...

, Counting Crows

Counting Crows

Counting Crows is an American rock band originating from Berkeley, California. Formed in 1991, the group gained popularity following the release of its debut album in 1993, August and Everything After, which featured the hit single "Mr. Jones"...

, and The Verve Pipe

The Verve Pipe

The Verve Pipe is an American rock band from East Lansing, Michigan. It was formed in 1992 by Brian and Brad Vander Ark, Brian Stout and Donny Brown.-History:...

, and looks to these bands for musical inspiration.
Andrew began his musical career towards the end of his time at Taylor University

Taylor University

Taylor University is a private, interdenominational, evangelical Christian college located in Upland, Indiana. Founded in 1846, it is one of the oldest evangelical Christian colleges in America....

 in Upland

Upland

Upland may refer to:*Highland , an area of higher land*Upland Place namesIn Germany:*Upland - mountain range in the state of Hesse.In Sweden:*Uppland, a province of Sweden In the United States:...

, Indiana

Indiana

Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...

. During this time, he played with numerous local bands. Upon graduation, he launched his solo career in Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

, performing at various local restaurants and venues, including Rockit Bar and Grill, Elbo Room, SPACE

Evanston S.P.A.C.E.

Evanston S.P.A.C.E. is a concert hall and venue for music, visual arts and literary events located at 1245 Chicago Avenue in Evanston, Illinois. S.P.A.C.E was first opened in spring 2008, along with Union Pizzeria, an affiliated restaurant in the same building.S.P.A.C.E...

 and Schubas Tavern.

He is currently touring clubs and universities across the country, and is also a member of the critically acclaimed national tour Ten Out of Tenn

Ten Out of Tenn

Ten Out of Tenn is a collective of singer/songwriters from Nashville, Tennessee, founded in 2005 by Kristen and Trent Dabbs. The collective has released multiple volumes, including a Christmas album and a benefit album for the 2010 Tennessee flood victims .The group's 2008 tour is the subject of...

. He has shared the stage with numerous artists including Ben Folds

Ben Folds

Benjamin Scott "Ben" Folds is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and television personality. From 1995-2000, Folds was the frontman and pianist of the alternative rock band Ben Folds Five. Since the group disbanded, Folds has performed as a solo artist and has toured all over the world...

, Brian Vander Ark

Brian Vander Ark

Brian Vander Ark is an American Singer-songwriter best known as lead singer for the band The Verve Pipe. Born in Holland, Michigan, Vander Ark began playing guitar at age 8. At age 18, he was married to then girlfriend Michelle Marthens and had a son named Joshua Vander Ark. Soon after he joined...

 (The Verve Pipe

The Verve Pipe

The Verve Pipe is an American rock band from East Lansing, Michigan. It was formed in 1992 by Brian and Brad Vander Ark, Brian Stout and Donny Brown.-History:...

), Greg Laswell

Greg Laswell

Greg Laswell is a musician, recording engineer, and producer from San Diego, California. He has released four studio albums: Good Movie in 2003, Through Toledo in 2006, and Three Flights from Alto Nido in 2008, and Take a Bow in 2010, as well as several EPs and special singles...

, Barcelona (indie rock band)

Barcelona (indie rock band)

Barcelona is a band from Seattle, Washington. The band's sound is harmonious and piano-based with elements of rock. Formed in 2005, the band cites U2, Coldplay, Copeland, Death Cab for Cutie and Lovedrug as its influences. Barcelona independently released their debut album, Absolutes, in September...

, and Boyce Avenue (band).

Andrew released his debut EP All Those Pretty Lights in September 2008, containing songs featured in hit TV shows including CW's “90210

90210 (TV series)

90210 is an American teen drama television series developed by Rob Thomas, Jeff Judah and Gabe Sachs, and the fourth series in the Beverly Hills, 90210 franchise created by Darren Star. 90210 is the first series produced by CBS Productions under the company's re-launch, but is now produced by CBS...

”, MTV

MTV

MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....

's “The Real World

The Real World

The Real World is a reality television program on MTV originally produced by Mary-Ellis Bunim and Jonathan Murray. First broadcast in 1992, the show, which was inspired by the 1973 PBS documentary series An American Family, is the longest-running program in MTV history and one of the...

”, CBS

CBS

CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...

's Ghost Whisperer

Ghost Whisperer

Ghost Whisperer is an American television supernatural drama, which ran on CBS from September 23, 2005 to May 21, 2010.The series follows the life of Melinda Gordon , who has the ability to see and communicate with ghosts...

, and E!

E!

E! Entertainment Television is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by NBCUniversal. It features entertainment-related programming, reality television, feature films and occasionally series and specials unrelated to the entertainment industry.E! has an audience reach of...

's “Keeping Up with the Kardashians

Keeping Up with the Kardashians

Keeping Up with the Kardashians is an American reality television series that airs on E!. The series premiered in October 2007. It focuses on the personal and professional lives of the members of the Kardashian and Jenner family. There will be a 7th Season to premiere in 2012.As of September 2011,...

”. His debut full-length album The Ladder was released in February 2010. Songs from The Ladder have been featured on hit TV shows including Grey's Anatomy

Grey's Anatomy

Grey's Anatomy is an American medical drama television series created by Shonda Rhimes. The series premiered on March 27, 2005 on ABC; since then, seven seasons have aired. The series follows the lives of interns, residents and their mentors in the fictional Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital in...

and CW

The CW Television Network

The CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB...

's The Vampire Diaries

The Vampire Diaries (TV series)

The Vampire Diaries is an American supernatural drama television series developed by Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec, based on the book series of the same name written by L. J. Smith. The series premiered on The CW Television Network on September 10, 2009, and is currently in its third season that...

and One Tree Hill

One Tree Hill (TV series)

One Tree Hill is an American television drama created by Mark Schwahn, which premiered on September 23, 2003, on The WB Television Network. After its third season, The WB merged with UPN to form The CW Television Network, and, since September 27, 2006, the network has been the official broadcaster...

and ABC Family's Pretty Little Liars

Pretty Little Liars (TV series)

Pretty Little Liars is an American mystery-thriller teen drama television series created by Marlene King. Based on the popular series of novels written by Sara Shepard, the show premiered on June 8, 2010 on ABC Family...

. His song "Sky's Still Blue" was featured in a Microsoft

Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...

 commercial/documentary promoting the Windows 7, Windows Live

Windows Live

Windows Live is the collective brand name for a set of services and software products from Microsoft, part of their software plus services platform. A majority of these services are Web applications, accessible from a browser, but there are also client-side binary applications that require...

 and Windows Phone 7

Windows Phone 7

Windows Phone is a mobile operating system developed by Microsoft, and is the successor to its Windows Mobile platform, although incompatible with it. Unlike its predecessor, it is primarily aimed at the consumer market rather than the enterprise market...

 exosystem. It was made available as a free download from Microsoft.

His songs have garnered nationwide airplay including Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

’s WXRT

WXRT

WXRT, also known as WXRT 93.1, XRT, and 93-XRT is a AAA radio station in Chicago, Illinois. For many years their slogan has been "Chicago's Finest Rock". WXRT is a primary sponsor of the Chicago nonprofit Rock For Kids.-History:...

, Nashville’s WRLT

WRLT

WRLT is an independently owned and operated adult album alternative-formatted FM radio station in the Nashville, Tennessee market and located at 100.1 mHz...

, Philadelphia's WXPN

WXPN

WXPN is a non-commercial, public radio station operated by the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia that broadcasts a music radio format called adult album alternative , along with many other format shows supported all with an indie slant...

, Indianapolis

Indianapolis

Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...

's WTTS

WTTS

WTTS is an FM radio station serving Indianapolis and Bloomington, Indiana, in the United States, broadcasting at 92.3 FM. The station's format is classified as Adult Album Alternative or "Triple A." WTTS uses the slogan "World Class Rock" to describe its music mix...

, and Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

's KCRW

KCRW

KCRW is a public radio station broadcasting from the campus of Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, California, carrying a mix of National Public Radio news, talk radio and freeform music format. The general manager of KCRW is Jennifer Ferro...

. Andrew was named “Best Breakout Artist, Chicago” by MTV

MTV

MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....

 in 2009. His music and vocal stylings draw comparisons to Coldplay

Coldplay

Coldplay are a British alternative rock band formed in 1996 by lead vocalist Chris Martin and lead guitarist Jonny Buckland at University College London. After they formed Pectoralz, Guy Berryman joined the group as a bassist and they changed their name to Starfish. Will Champion joined as a...

, The Fray

The Fray

-Literature:*Fray, a phenomenon in Terry Pratchett's The Carpet People*Fray , a comic book series by Joss Whedon**Melaka Fray, titular character of the comic book series-Music:*"Fray", a song from the album 14 Shades of Grey by Staind...

, and John Mayer

John Mayer

John Clayton Mayer is an American pop rock and blues rock musician, singer-songwriter, recording artist, and music producer. Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut and raised in Fairfield, Connecticut, he attended Berklee College of Music in Boston. He moved to Atlanta in 1997, where he refined his...

.

Press

The Washington Post, "Live!", September 24, 2009

Dayton City Paper, Ascending the Ladder, January 28, 2010

Fringe, "Andrew Belle: Looking Beyond All Those Pretty Lights", pg. 33, January/February 2010

Kalamazoo Gazette, "Pop-rocker Andrew Belle strikes out on his own, stops into Kalamazoo", February 4, 2010

American Way, "All That Jazz", pg. 55, February 15, 2010

Chicago Tribune, "Andrew Bird vs. Andrew Belle: Two Chicago indie performers", March 25, 2010

Radio

Chicago Public Radio

Chicago Public Radio

WBEZ is a noncommercial, public radio station broadcasting from Chicago, Illinois. Financed primarily by listener contributions, the station is affiliated with both National Public Radio and Public Radio International; they also broadcast content from American Public Media...

, WBEZ 91.5 FM, "Singer-Songwriter Andrew Belle Makes Musical Waves", March 16, 2010

Mad Toast Radio Show
http://www.blubrry.com/madtoastlive/682379/episode-106-andrew-belle-allen-stone

Maybe Hip: Chicago Rocks - Andrew Belle
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xcqhp1_maybe-hip-chicago-rocks-andrew-bell_music

WXPN, My Morning Download, 2/25/10

Discography

Single

1. In My Veins, June/July 2010

EPs

1. All Those Pretty Lights, September 2008

LPs

1. The Ladder, February 2010 (produced by Thomas Doeve)

Live Recordings

1. Sundays at Rockit, September 2009
2. Live At Hotel Cafe March 2010