With support from Aoife Scott – Aoife comes from the musically renowned Black Family (Mother is Frances Black and Aunt Mary Black) and her last album was produced by Ron Block (Alison Krauss and Union Station) and recorded between Nashville and Dublin. (iTunes No 1 – Ireland Album Charts 2020 & HOTPRESS Readers Poll Best Folk/Trad 2021).
30th Anniversary Tour
Renowned for her collaborations, not just in Irish traditional music but through all musical genre, Sharon Shannon has achieved legendary status throughout the world and has made the much-maligned accordion ‘cool’ in her home country.
While she is known for her arrangements of traditional Irish tunes and Irish-influenced compositions, she has always been eager to explore new styles, and to meet and work with other musicians.
Sharon will be celebrating 30 years on the scene with the release of a special anniversary album in November 2020, following the release of The Winkles Tapes in November 2019.
The story behind The Winkles Tapes
In May 1989, Sharon Shannon began work on her first album at Winkles Hotel, Kinvara, Co Galway. This recording session lasted three days and featured guest appearances by some of the biggest names in Irish music including Donal Lunny, Gerry O’Beirne, Mary Shannon, Eoin O’Neill, The Waterboys’ Mike Scott and U2’s Adam Clayton.
In June later that same year, Sharon became a member of The Waterboys, and toured and recorded with them for 18 months before returning to her debut album. By this time, Sharon had become very influenced by the variety of musical styles played by The Waterboys; the instrumentation in particular. Sharon had discovered drum kits, Hammond organ, brass and electric guitar, so when she returned to her debut album, the approach to recording was very different to The Winkles Tapes.
