Shannon Lee Briggs

Shannon Lee Briggs is like your entire high school yearbook compressed into one person. Equal parts band geek, cheerleader, and shit disturber, the young Canadian roots pop dynamo manages to articulate the feelings you’ve had but can’t put your finger on with a fearless honesty that has endeared her to critics and casual fans alike. Completely oblivious to her own talent and making no claim beyond “a most truthful,irrepressible, and unapologetic love” for making music, Briggs delivers to modern audiences something of the past, an authenticity and accessiblity of spirit illustrated through song. It is perhaps the ease with which she is able to communicate musically that has guided her rapid ascent in the industry. In the past year alone, Briggs and her Cadillac sized hollowbody guitar, have shared the stage with such greats as the Jayhawks’ Mark Olson, former Drive By Trucker Jason Isbell, Mat Kearney, Mekons’ front man, Jon Langford and his Waco Brothers, and Jason Plumb (The Waltons). Barely old enough to enter many of the venues she plays, the infamous bundle of energy delivers a breath of fresh air to audiences with a charisma that is both accidental and wholly earnest, musicianship that is undeniable, plus a unique solidarity with fans that leaves a room not only fighting for, but alongside her. Often compared to Sheryl Crow, Kris Kristofferson, and Lucinda Williams, Briggs’ distinctively radio friendly brand of roots infused pop walks the ground that exists between introspective alt-country and the glossy radio pop-rock she was raised on. She admits to have stumbled upon music “honestly and rather ungracefully, as a music liker before a music lover”. She maintains that the melodies that are able to speak to both experienced and innocent ears are the most profound and most enduring. “The emotions and atmospheres that music presents are intended to challenge the heart, not the music itself. It should be an easy and natural understanding between the song and listener”. Between playing to rowdy rooms and tirelessly recording demos in her home studio, Briggs signed a publishing deal with Nashville based APPALACH Music (Milsap-Galbraith). Founder Rob Galbraith has produced 20 number one hits and three Grammy award winning songs. The acclaimed artists he has worked with include Ronnie Milsap, Patti Labelle, Kenny Rogers, and Harry Chapin and he has published such perennial classics as Bonnie Raitt’s "I Can't Make You Love Me", Ronnie Milsap‘s "Stranger In My House", Vanessa Williams’ "Save The Best For Last", and Tim McGraw’s "Live Like You Were Dying". Despite her recent success in the US, Shannon Lee Briggs is “unwilling and unable” to stay far from home for too long. With the Moe Berg (The Pursuit of Happiness) produced “Carnation” scheduled for release in spring 2008, she is ready to split time between North and South. She remarks “When you make a record in Canada, you leave a mark that seems to last. There’s nothing fleeting about the Canadian singer songwriter tradition and nothing flippant about the fans. As an artist in Canada you work your balls off because its demanded, because it matters, and because it makes you part of a tradition you can’t help but admire”. Carnation, engineered by Juno winner Laurence Currie (Sloan, the Ganharvas), features some of the foremost champions of tradition that Briggs speaks including multi platinum artist Jim Cuddy (Blue Rodeo), Sarah Slean, Bob Egan (Wilco, Blue Rodeo), and producer Moe Berg (The Pursuit of Happiness). Shannon Lee Briggs and the music she creates are equally heart wrenching and ball busting, a dichotomy that leaves her in a perilous balance between irrefutable coolness and unabashed awkwardness. The listener is kept holding onto secrets and stories that are real, arresting, addictive and spoken as easily and compellingly as a conversation between kindred friends. When asked if she has any reservations about the future she laughs “Never what to write, only what to wear” and her inexplicably comfortable relationship with her fans and craft becomes clear. The music Shannon Lee Briggs creates is unguarded, unafraid, and uncontrived, designed to be understood inclusively.