Andy Friedman's reputation as a "dusty, paint-splattered Americana sage" (Rochester News & Democrat) germinated with the release of his 2009 album, Weary Things, which garnered the artist and songwriter enthusiastic praise, a performance on NPR's coveted Mountain Stage, and a growing audience.  His "hard-tack country originals" were described in The New Yorker as "the mark of a true artist," while NoDepression.com called his songs "unforgettable."  Old Crow Medicine Show's Ketch Secor proffered the album as a "certified, genuine American tune," and Indie-icon Sufjan Stevens proclaimed, "I think the world of Andy Friedman.  I've always wanted to be Andy Friedman."  The album was highlighted alongside titles by Tom Waits and Chuck Prophet by the Associated Press among "The Best Overlooked Albums of 2009."  His brand new studio album, Laserbeams And Dreams, Friedman co-produced with David Goodrich (Chris Smither) on guitar/piano and GRAMMY-nominated upright jazz bassist and composer Stephan Crump (Vijay Iyer Trio).  "Friedman writes achingly profound lyrics to brooding country-folk numbers that put him almost in the same league as Tom Waits, Lou Reed, or Bob Dylan," says Popmatters.com.  The New Yorker adds, "His songs draw on the deepest traditions of American music and evoke an affecting sense of loss and longing."  In addition to a music career, Friedman's drawings appear regularly in the pages of The New Yorker, as well as New York, Rolling Stone, GQ, SPIN, and in various other publications around the globe.