Événement

Shannon Stephens & Jeff Fielder

Shannon Stephens began her musical career in 1994 as the voice of the band Marzuki, a folk-rock ensemble assembled by Sufjan Stevens. After Marzuki disbanded, Shannon began to perform and record on her own. She recorded her self-titled debut LP in 1999, the same year she moved to Seattle and shared the stage with the likes of Denison Witmer, Rosie Thomas, Jason Harrod and Damien Jurado. But by the time the new album had come back from the manufacturer, she had realized that all this music stuff was a lot of work. The boxes went into her garage and collected dust for nine years while she got married, read copious amounts of books, had a daughter, and did lots of hippy stuff like growing potatoes, canning preserves, and making kombucha.

In 2008, one of her songs ("I'll Be Glad") was covered by Bonnie Prince Billy on his album Lie Down In The Light. Shannon pulled her head out in time to release her second album, The Breadwinner, in 2009, which Rachel Sanders at Exclaim! described as "...a spectacularly beautiful and fiercely compelling sophomore album" and Sufjan Stevens called "...a joyful, heartful collection of quiet, gorgeous songs". In 2010, Asthmatic Kitty Records re-released Shannon's self-titled debut. Shannon performs locally and nationally, solo or with her band, and will release a third album in spring 2012.

Jeff Fielder is an exceptional and accomplished guitarist and instrumentalist. Based in the Seattle area, Jeff has worked and recorded with artists from all over the musical spectrum. Most recently Duff McKagen, Amy Ray, Rocky Votolato and Kasey Anderson. Also being a member of a number of bands including Sera Cahoone, Lindsay Fuller and extensive touring with Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan, Fielder keeps very busy. All the while, Jeff has kept a foot in a solo career. Releasing the solo record Last Disguise in 2007 and playing compelling shows, both solo acoustic and with various instrumentation.

The overall theme of the solo work is rooted in a very rich tradition of blues and roots music combined with thoughtful guitar playing and soulful vocals. Jeff hopes to focus a bit more on solo projects in the coming year, play more solo shows and put out a new record in 2012.