Drew Reid wears many hats. In 32 years in the music business, he has been a performer, songwriter, publisher, producer, promoter, booking agent, bandleader and roadie.

He began his musical journey in 1969 playing in coffeehouses in his native Mohawk Valley of Central New York for tips and whatever came back after passing the hat. In 1970, he joined his older brother's band, Scepter Records recording artists Agape, playing in clubs and concerts throughout the Northeast and hiding his obviously underage face under a big slouch hat.

By 1971, he was hitchhiking around the USA with his guitar, working pick-up gigs and playing on the street. He had a two year association with George Moore, a New Haven, CT based multi-talented artist, songwriter and performer. They wrote over 60 original songs, and the combination of an
African-American dynamo and a whitebread hippie with waist length hair generated some interest in the New York City to Boston corridor.

No deals were made, however, and by 1973 Drew had relocated on his own to Key West, FL. The timing was perfect, as Key West was becoming a Mecca for some of America's most talented musicians, artists and writers. Drew was in the midst of this cultural maelstrom playing Blues, Rock, Country and Reggae in numerous bands, writing songs, and developing his solo act. His bluegrass group the Solares Hill String Band appeared in concert with Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefers. Among his friends and patrons were Tennessee Williams, who loved Drew's version of "City Of New Orleans" and Shel Silverstein, artist, author, playwright and songwriter, who eventually invited Drew to collaborate on several projects. Drew arranged and recorded over 30 demos for Shel.

In 1984, Drew left the land of Sloppy Joe's and Captain Tony's Saloon for the land of Southern rock and bureaucrats, relocating to Florida's capital city, Tallahassee. He immediately became a stalwart of the North
Florida/Gulf Coast club circuit, appearing up to 50 weeks a year in a swath from Mobile, AL east to Jacksonville, FL. This was the beginning of 17 solid years of road
work performing solo or leading bands, which continues today. His duo Hightide was a favorite for years in Panama City Beach, and solo, he enjoyed a tenure at the world famous Flora-Bama Lounge on Perdido Key. This was an important piece of the puzzle.

In 1986, Drew produced his first release Safe At The Plate, a 7 song tape, that sold out in months. Not long after, he was invited to play at the Third Annual Frank Brown International Songwriters Fest at the Flora-Bama, sharing
the stage with the likes of Mickey Newbury, Red Lane, Billy Joe Shaver, and other luminaries. He appeared at the next ten Frank Brown Fests, which convinced him to move to Nashville and delve into the songwriting and publishing business. He made the move in 1992.

In 1995 he returned to his Key West roots with a series of shows at the Hog's Breath Saloon, and began producing the Key West Songwriters Fest in 1996. This has blossomed into one of the most reknown small songwriter festivals in the country, presenting Nashville greats like Mickey Newbury, Gretchen Peters, Chuck Cannon, Mac McAnally, Mark Selby & Tia Sillers, Mark D. Sanders...the list goes on and on. In 1998 he took over a local festival and transformed it into the Southwest Florida Songwriters Fest, presenting many of the above writers and their peers. Both festivals are going strong in their 7th and 5th years respectively.

Drew's first full length project is Journey Proud, released independently in 1996. This CD has enjoyed airplay from Arizona to Amsterdam, and had strong sales through the mail and at concerts. At present, Drew is hard at work on a new project dealing with the American Civil War, as yet untitled and slated for a Spring 2002 release.

Since 1998 Drew has divided his time between Nashville and Southwest Florida, writing, recording, working on his craft and pursuing his Muse. Drew Reid is available for club and concert appearances, private parties, production duties, consultation, and in short, anything to do with good
music and entertainment, anywhere, anytime. His Nissan pick-up has over 300,000 miles on it and runs like a dream.