Shannon McNally

Shannon Maureen McNally (born March 17, 1973) is an American singer and songwriter.

Biography McNally was born in Hempstead, New York, on Long Island. While studying anthropology at Franklin and Marshall College, she began singing and playing guitar in small clubs. In 1997, after graduating and honing her skills on the streets of Paris as a busker, she got a contract with Capitol Records. She recorded her debut album, Jukebox Sparrows (Capitol, 2002), with Jim Keltner, Greg Leisz, and James Gadson. In early 2006, she released North American Ghost Music. Tour dates with Son Volt also coincided its release.

McNally took off most of 2008 and 2009 after the birth of her first child. She resumed performing and recording and toured with Dave Alvin & the Guilty Women. The album is a musical collaboration with the legendary Dr. John.

Shortly after, McNally and her young daughter moved from New Orleans to Holly Springs, Mississippi, where McNally nursed her terminally ill mother until her death in 2015. She took solace in her friendship with Rodney Crowell. Together the two wrote songs and exchanged ideas until her tenth studio album BLACK IRISH was born, which included her song, "Banshee Moan".

In 2019, McNally joined a new management team and continued to collaborate with Terry Allen as part of his band. She is currently working on her next studio album release to come in 2020.

From 2023-2024 McNally hosted a podcast, The Sacred and the Profane, featuring interviews with blues, country, and other roots artists including Emmylou Harris, Shawn Colvin, Jessi Colter, Benmont Tench, and others.

Discography

Albums 2002: Jukebox Sparrows (Capitol) 2004: Run for Cover (Tail Feather) 2005: Geronimo (Back Porch) 2006: North American Ghost Music (Back Porch) 2009: Coldwater (self-released) 2010: Western Ballad (Sacred Sumac) 2013: Small Town Talk (Songs of Bobby Charles) (Sacred Sumac) 2017: Black Irish (Compass) 2021: The Waylon Sessions (Compass) 2023: Live at Dee's (self-released) 2025: Live at the 2025 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (Munck)

EPs 2000: Bolder Than Paradise (Capitol) 2002: Ran on Pure Lightning (Fargo) with Neal Casal 2006: Southside Sessions (Back Porch) with Charlie Sexton 2012: Light Walker Demos EP 2012: Chasing the Ghost Rehearsal Sessions (Archer) with Amy LaVere 2024: Special Edition EP

Singles

2017: Merry Christmas Baby (Compass) with Mike Farris Podcast The Sacred and the Profane

With Tara MacLean, Kendall Payne, and Amy Correia 2000: The Girls Room (Capitol, Nettwerk)

Featured In 2002: various artists- Sweet Home Alabama (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (Hollywood) - track 10, "Now That I Know" 2002: various artists - Live at the World Cafe: Volume 15 (World Café) - track 13, "Down and Dirty" 2002: various artists - 107.1 KGSR Radio Austin - Broadcasts Vol. 10 (KGSR) - track 2-18, "Now That I Know" 2003: various artists - Stormy Weather: The Music of Harold Arlen (Sony Classical) - track 2, "As Long as I Live" 2013: various artists - Son of Rogues Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs & Chanteys (Anti-) - track 16, "Tom's Gone to Hilo" with Gavin Friday 2016: various artists- The Musical Mojo of Dr. John: Celebrating Mac and His Music (Concord) - track 10, "Street People"

As Guest Musician 2003: Jason Crosby - Four Chords And Seven Notes Ago (Artists House / Blues Planet) 2006: Eric Lindell - Change In The Weather (Alligator) 2007: Son Volt - The Search (Transmit Sound / Legacy) 2009: Hundred Year Flood - Poison (Frogville) 2009: Luther Dickinson and the Sons of Mudboy - Onward And Upward (Memphis International) 2013: Jim Lauderdale - Black Roses (Sky Crunch) 2014: Rodney Crowell - Tarpaper Sky (New West) 2020: The Allman Betts Band - Bless Your Heart - Track 4: Ashes Of My Lovers (BMG Rights Management (US) LLC) 2020: Terry Allen And The Panhandle Mystery Band - Just Like Moby Dick (Paradise of Bachelors) 2024: Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs summer tour

As Composer 2004: Dave Alvin - Ashgrove (Yep Roc) - track 7, "Sinful Daughter" (co-written with Dave Alvin) 2015: Papa Mali - Music Is Love (429 Records) - track 8, "Bought and Sold (Body and Soul)" (co-written with Malcolm "Papa Mali" Welbourne)