Shannon Murray profile picture

Shannon Murray

About Me

Shannon Murray is a folk/punk singer-songwriter and activist originally from northern Minnesota. With a style and sound that merges the folk sensibilities of Dar Williams, the energy and spunk of Cyndi Lauper, and the story-telling of Utah Phillips, there is no telling where this young troubadour will take you. She is shocking and delighting audiences everywhere with her quirky stories, passionate songs, clumsy wit, and contagious energy.After six years studying clarinet performance in college, Shannon quit graduate school, sold her clarinet and headed out on a tour of the west coast with $20 dollars to her name and a car with 230,000 miles on it. Two years later, she is still reinventing the way she approaches making music and touring, and working to make her professional life more in-line with her political beliefs. She has toured by bus and bicycle to question the obvious contradictions between touring as a political musician and car culture. She makes all of her music available online for free downloading, and sells cds for sliding-scale, offering them to people for whatever they can afford to pay. She is also a member of Riot Folk!, a anti-profit, mutual-aid collective of radical artists and musicians, making music to provoke, educate, heal and inspire.With six self-released albums of under her belt, Shannon is determination to stay independent. Her self-titled debut album “Shannon Murray” was released in 2002. She followed that up with “you and a six string” in 2003, “Scream” in 2004, “Hallelujah! I'm a Bum" in 2005, “Love and Fear" in 2006, and “Elated” in 2007. All of these albums (except the Bum cd which she recorded herself) were recorded in a small studio on the Turtle River in a wooded area of Northern Minnesota. The albums are labors of love, and Shannon is proud to proclaim that they were made by local businesses and artists, "My music is an extension of my personal beliefs, to separate the two is to live two lives, and I am not willing to do that." She is currently working on a month long bicycle tour of Florida with fellow RiotFolker Evan Greer and some other amazing artists!

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 06/06/2005
Band Website: www.shannonmurray.com
Band Members: Shannon her guitar, ukulele and a harp (when she gets a bigger car)
Influences: Joshua Heineman, Joanna Newsom, Utah Phillips, Tegan and Sara, Annalise Aakhus, Michele Shocked, Hattie, Huck Brock, Cyndi Lauper, Ani Difranco, Jolie Holland, Cat Power, Be Good Tanyas, Inga Muscio, Jay Hotaling, Pete Seeger, Billy Bragg, Sylvia Plath, Georgia O'Keeffe, Howard Zinn, Joe Hill, Neil Young, Mavina Reynolds, Valerie Solanas, Kimya Dawson, Riot Folk!, Lia Rose, Jolie Rickman
Sounds Like: riot grrrrl folk punk
Record Label: Self Released

My Blog

Concert and benefit!!

Here is some info on two events this Sunday and Monday!ON SUNDAYA Benefit for the RNC8Garrett Fitzgerald and Eryn Trimmer will be coming to Bemidji to speak on Sunday, November 2nd at ..3:30pm..at t...
Posted by on Thu, 30 Oct 2008 15:52:00 GMT

November/December Midwest Tourin'

If you live in/or near these cities and want to get involved setting up shows, let me know!  Here's the tour:11/12 St. Cloud 11/13 Minneapolis11/14 Ames11/15 Des Moines11/16 Saint Louis11/17 Cape...
Posted by on Sat, 18 Oct 2008 11:06:00 GMT

The cds are finally finished!!!

Hey folks!I hope you all had wonderful holidays and time with people you love. I am in Minneapolis today on the first stop of a tour out to thenortheast.  I am kind of sick again- no surprise the...
Posted by on Sat, 13 Jan 2007 10:14:00 GMT

The suspense killed me...

But in spite of my inability to have any patience, I still recieved that anticipated envelope in the mail when it was due to arrive- and no sooner. I opened it and read it and jumped up and down and s...
Posted by on Mon, 27 Nov 2006 12:57:00 GMT

News... great news

So it has been a little while since I've written much of anything on this blog. So many things have happened this summer!!!!  I don't even know where to start. I really don't. The best news...
Posted by on Fri, 08 Sep 2006 10:57:00 GMT

it has been brought to my attention...

...that people think I have up and died!It is not true, not true at all. I've been hiding away from the world and technology and what a wonderful thing.Anyway- I'll try to to a reappearing act in the...
Posted by on Tue, 29 Aug 2006 08:42:00 GMT

Good News!

The Ryan Harvey/Shannon Murray split is all recorded. We are going to get it mastered next week and packaged up by next month. Hopefully come up with a name for it by then:) Are you as excited as I am...
Posted by on Wed, 09 Aug 2006 13:33:00 GMT

Recording and Festival Fun!

Hello everyone!!! I just wanted to write a quick note to let the universe know about a few things. First, I am SOooooo in love with the moon!!Second, playing at the Winnipeg Folk Festiv...
Posted by on Mon, 10 Jul 2006 16:03:00 GMT

Disgusted

I guess I should start by saying I am stealing wireless from the local sorta conservative coffeeshop in town.  Sometimes I buy things, but today I don't want anything but internet access. Maybe i...
Posted by on Fri, 30 Jun 2006 16:16:00 GMT

Statement by Sandra McCord

I will be heading out of town by bus on Monday to support a friend of mine who has recently lost custody of her children.  I wanted to create a space where the voices of women like her ...
Posted by on Thu, 15 Jun 2006 11:32:00 GMT