Shannon Murray is a folk/punk musician and storyteller from the northwoods of Minnesota. Tackling guitar playing, and songcraft like it’s a contact sport, their music is intensely political, and at the same time deeply personal. A tool of resistance, a method of resilience, a means of survival, a message to about the importance of being true to who you are, and telling your story, it is a testament to the importance and power of music both in movements for social justice and in our personal lives.
Heavily influenced both stylistically and conceptually by their upbringing in a working class, non-musical family in rural Minnesota, and despite a late introduction to guitar and songwriting at the age of 20, and a myriad of assertions from their music teachers growing up that they lacked aptitude, Shannon has developed a sound, style, and perspective that is uniquely their own. If you ask them what artists have influenced them the most, you will likely get a list of musicians from the small town of Bemidji that Shannon calls home. Shannon released their eighth album, Hallelujah! I'm a Bum, 2nd ed in 2017.
In addition to their solo work, Shannon is a founding member of the Broadwing Booking Collective, and is part of the now partially retired Riot Folk Collective. They tour universities, libraries, and history centers around the country with their “People’s Music” series side project working to preserve working class history in story and song. What began as an exploration into the music and history of the IWW labor union for a presentation at a local library has grown into a massive collection of songs and stories. Shannon's newest addition to this series saw them delving deeper into local Minnesota working class history through a 2015-2016 Hinge Artist Residency with Springboard for the Arts where they explored the connections between poverty, trauma and mental health in the personal histories of patients admitted for mental health treatment to the Fergus Falls State Hospital from 1890-1920. Through informative and interactive workshop concerts featuring photos, historical documents, stories, and song, Shannon is able to preserve these vital parts of working class history in memorable and meaningful ways.
Previous releases include: Collecting Anchors, Elated, Love & Fear a split with fellow Riot Folk member Ryan Harvey, Hallelujah! I'm a Bum a short six song, lo-fi EP of IWW labor tunes, Scream, you and a six string, and their self-titled debut album Shannon Murray.
Heavily influenced both stylistically and conceptually by their upbringing in a working class, non-musical family in rural Minnesota, and despite a late introduction to guitar and songwriting at the age of 20, and a myriad of assertions from their music teachers growing up that they lacked aptitude, Shannon has developed a sound, style, and perspective that is uniquely their own. If you ask them what artists have influenced them the most, you will likely get a list of musicians from the small town of Bemidji that Shannon calls home. Shannon released their eighth album, Hallelujah! I'm a Bum, 2nd ed in 2017.
In addition to their solo work, Shannon is a founding member of the Broadwing Booking Collective, and is part of the now partially retired Riot Folk Collective. They tour universities, libraries, and history centers around the country with their “People’s Music” series side project working to preserve working class history in story and song. What began as an exploration into the music and history of the IWW labor union for a presentation at a local library has grown into a massive collection of songs and stories. Shannon's newest addition to this series saw them delving deeper into local Minnesota working class history through a 2015-2016 Hinge Artist Residency with Springboard for the Arts where they explored the connections between poverty, trauma and mental health in the personal histories of patients admitted for mental health treatment to the Fergus Falls State Hospital from 1890-1920. Through informative and interactive workshop concerts featuring photos, historical documents, stories, and song, Shannon is able to preserve these vital parts of working class history in memorable and meaningful ways.
Previous releases include: Collecting Anchors, Elated, Love & Fear a split with fellow Riot Folk member Ryan Harvey, Hallelujah! I'm a Bum a short six song, lo-fi EP of IWW labor tunes, Scream, you and a six string, and their self-titled debut album Shannon Murray.