Sharon Shannon

Sharon Shannon (born 8 June 1968) is an Irish musician, best known for her work with the button accordion and for her fiddle technique. She also plays the tin whistle and melodeon. Her 1991 debut album, Sharon Shannon, was the best-selling album of traditional Irish music ever released in Ireland. Beginning with Irish folk music, her work demonstrates a wide-ranging number of musical influences. Shannon also worked as a competitive show jumper, but gave it up at the age of sixteen to focus on her music. and the fiddle with Frank Custy, and performed with the band Arcady, of which she was a founding member.

Sharon's second album, Out The Gap (1994), was produced by Dennis "Blackbeard" Bovell and had a distinctly reggae feel. In 2004, Shannon released the album Libertango with guest spots from Róisín Elsafty, Sinéad O'Connor and Kirsty MacColl. In 2005, she appeared on Tunes, a collaboration with Frankie Gavin, Michael McGoldrick, and Jim Murray. Other collaborations that year included Eliza Carthy. In 2006, a celebration of 15 years of recording came out with The Sharon Shannon Collection 1990–2005. In 2007, Shannon worked with Belinda Carlisle on her album Voila.In 2008, Shannon featured in the Transatlantic Sessions.

A live version of Galway Girl recorded with Mundy was the most downloaded track in Ireland in 2007, winning a Meteor Award. In 2009, she played "Galway Girl" live at the Meteor Music Awards 2009, where she also picked up a Lifetime Achievement Award and won Most Downloaded Track again for Galway Girl with Mundy.

For several years Shannon performed numerous live collaborations, on stage and TV with Shane MacGowan, with her band performing a number of songs from the Pogues songbook, and MacGowan performing songs from Shannon's repertoire at a time when otherwise he infrequently performed live, or aired new material. Shannon twice recorded MacGowan's otherwise unreleased song Mama Lou, while he provided vocals on a cover of his song Rake at the Gates of Hell on Shannon's 2009 album Saints and Scoundrels and Fiesta on 2010s Collaborations.

Shannon features playing accordion on The Lee Thompson Ska Orchestra single "Bangarang", which also features Dawn Penn as vocalist. It was released on 26 May 2014.

Beginning with Irish folk music, her work demonstrates a wide-ranging number of musical influences, including reggae, cajun music, Portuguese music, and French Canadian music. Her single "What You Make It (da, da, da, da)" featured hip hop music artists. She continues to record her music and perform with her tour band, The Woodchoppers.

Honours In October 2018, NUI Galway awarded Shannon an honorary doctorate.

Discography Albums Sharon Shannon (1991) Out the Gap (1994) Each Little Thing (1997) Spellbound: The Best Of Sharon Shannon (1999) The Diamond Mountain Sessions (2000) Live in Galway (2002) with the Woodchoppers Libertango (2003) tunes (2005) with Frankie Gavin, Michael McGoldrick, and Jim Murray The Sharon Shannon Collection 1990–2005 (2006) Live at Dolans CD & DVD (2007) Renegade (2007) with Mike McGoldrick, Dezi Donnelly, and Jim Murray Saints & Scoundrels (2009) upside down (2009) with Mike McGoldrick, Dezi Donnelly, and Jim Murray Flying Circus (2012) with Jim Murray and the RTÉ Concert Orchestra The Set List US/Canada 2014 (2014) In Galway CD & DVD (2015) with Alan Connor Live in the US and Canada 2016 (2016) with Jim Murray and Alan Connor Sacred Earth (2017) Recorded and released on Irish record label, Celtic Collections Live in Minneapolis (2019) The Winkles Tapes 1989 (2019) The Reckoning (2020)

Videography Live at Dolans (2007) In Galway (2015) with Alan Connor