Meet Amy McAndrew of Sunset Singers in West Hollywood

Today we’d like to introduce you to Amy McAndrew.

Amy, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I grew up performing in community theatre, and as a child, I always felt that my future would involve performing on stage. I majored in musical theatre in college and moved to New York shortly after graduating. I loved living in New York but it wasn’t always easy.  I spent many years waiting tables, babysitting, and about a hundred other jobs while supporting my career. But I had success too. I performed in many regional theaters, traveled around the country with tours and performed Off-Broadway.

I was cast in an Off-Broadway show, Evil Dead the Musical, and covered all of the female roles. It was so exciting to learn the roles and jump in when needed. The show was successful and I was as happy as can be. Unfortunately, while doing a stunt scene during a performance, I fell and hurt my ankle, tearing two ligaments. I had to leave the show and my growing career was placed on hold. It took two years and surgery to fully recover and during that time my husband, then fiancé, and I decided to move to Los Angeles.

Los Angeles was a whole different ball game and I felt a bit like I was starting from scratch. I still pursued theatre, but as you go in life, at least for me, you start to think about other avenues to pursue. I realized I had a bit of an entrepreneur streak and wondered how I may explore that as well. As a child, I overheard my parents talking about the massive amounts of dandelions overtaking our yard and volunteered to pick them with one of my neighborhood friends. We agreed upon 1 penny per dandelion.  When all was said and done, we had collected 4,000 dandelions, and we each left with $20 in our pockets. This was the first of many business ideas!

Performing was a passion of mine, but I spent a lot of time auditioning for other projects and hoping to work for someone else. I thought, what would it be like to create work for myself? What would it be like to create work for others? The obvious answer was to combine the two passions I had and start my own entertainment business.

I loved music from eras gone by, aka “oldies but goodies” — everything from 1920’s jazz to 1960’s Motown. My first endeavor was a 1940’s Andrews Sisters group. From there, I decided to expand on my own and started my company, Sunset Singers, with my husband and now business partner, James McAndrew.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Being a singer and actress is not necessarily an easy path. Actors are always looking for the next big job. It’s taken a long time for me to be able to feel great about where I am at in my career. It can be difficult to find a balance between work and home life. I have two young children and a two-year-old business, so I spend nights staying up late and working. I want to make sure I am fully present to watch my children grow, but I also want to help provide them with a life of stability and show them by example the rewards of pursuing your dreams.

My dad passed away this year. He was one of my biggest supporters. I remembered many a show where my father would be yelling “BRAVO!!!” from the back of the theatre. I was mortified yet loved it all the same. He had a long battle with Alzheimer’s, but he was able to make the trip to California to see me perform a few years ago. I saw his face light up the way it used to when he saw me on stage. I know he’s looking down and is proud.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Sunset Singers story. Tell us more about the business.
Sunset Singers provides live music and entertainment for corporate, public and private events, specializing in vintage entertainment. We currently have five singing groups and several more in the works. Each group embraces a different era/genre of music, and they’re traditionally styled for that era. The Sugarplums were our first group, performing holiday classics with a 50’s flair.

Our headlining act, The Starlets, sings all your favorite 60’s girl group hits with a live band. The Sweethearts sing malt shop oldies and 50’s rock n’ roll. They recently performed 19 dates at the LA County Fair. We just launched The Hollywood Dolls, our 40’s Andrews Sisters-inspired trio, and The California Dreams, an a cappella group singing hits from the ’60s, 70’s & the ’80s. We also offer soloists and musicians to enhance our acts.

I believe I’m most proud of the supportive community of singers and musicians I get to work with on a daily basis. Not only are they incredibly talented, but they are truly wonderful, collaborative artists. When we started this company, one of our core objectives was to surround ourselves with positive people who are happy to share their gift with others.

As artists, we do this work for the joy of performing, and it’s so important to remember that. I feel lucky to be on this journey with them and to be able to share their immense talent and personalities with our clients.

Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I would say that everyone experiences both “good luck” and “bad luck” at some point in their life. Sometimes the bad luck helps push you in the direction you should be heading. I haven’t always had good luck but everything in my life good or bad has led me to where I am now, and I’m grateful for it.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.sunsetsingers.com
• Phone: 323-609-3858
• Email: entertainment@sunsetsingers.com
• Instagram: @sunsetsingers
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/sunsetsingers
• Twitter: @sunsetsingers

Image Credit:
Brie Childers, Erika Reno, Melissa Firestone

Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.