Sharon Shannon, the button accordion player from Co Clare, Ireland has recorded
and toured with a who's who of the Irish and Global Music Industry, including
Bono, Adam Clayton, Sinead O’Connor, Jackson Browne, John Prine ,Steve
Earle, The RTE Concert Orchestra, The Chieftains, The Waterboys, Willie Nelson,
Nigel Kennedy, Alison Krauss and Shane MacGowan .

 

Her 12 studio recorded albums to date have all been very different and
groundbreaking mixing traditional Irish with reggae, country, Native American,
bluegrass, rap, dance, African,French Canadian.

The genre-defying star has had multi-platinum album sales and has had several
number one albums, singles and DVDs in her home country. Her album Galway
Girl went 4 times platinum in Ireland with the title track winning her the
Meteor award two years running for the most downloaded song.

 

Sharon grew up in a rural community and was part of a family that all play
musical instruments and traditional Irish music.
However, her career took an massive upward trajectory when in the late 80s
she was asked to joined the seminal rock band The Waterboys. Her first show
with that band ,to an audience of 50,000 ,was the on main stage at perhaps the
most well-known music festival on earth-Glastonbury.

 

Her subsequent debut album was released worldwide and was to become the
biggest selling record by a traditional artiste in Ireland.
She has entertained US Presidents Clinton at the White House and Obama in
Dublin and Irish Presidents Robinson and MacAleese on presidential visits to
Poland and Australia respectively. She recently accompanied Irish president
Michael D. Higgins on his official tour of China

 

Among the many awards she has received including Hot Press and Meteor
Awards ,She also celebrates being the youngest ever recipient of the Meteor
Lifetime Achievement Award.
She received an IBAM Award in Chicago in 2015 for her ‘unique contribution to
irish Music’. Other recipients were Darina Allen and actor Liam Neeson.
Her music has been featured in several Hollywood movies and she also played
a cameo role in the Neil Jordan movie ‘Ondine’. She has worked on a stage
producton of JM Synges ‘ The Playboy of the Western World’ which was
directed by Jim Sheridan.

 

She co-wrote and produced an album with the High Kings in 2013
Currently working on a book on her life, she is also writing material for a new
album to be released in 2017. This will be her first studio album in four years
although she has recorded with many artistes in the intervening years.
Sharon is also a passionate animal lover and does a lot of voluntary work and
fundraising for various animal rescues .

 

In March 2017, Sharon released her 10th studio album Sacred Earth. A ground
breaking album once again from Sharon. Produced by Justin Adams,this album
mixes Irish music with African and blues and features celebrated African
Musicians Abass Dodoo and Seikou Keita as well as special guests including
Finbar Furey and Alyra Rose.

 

A vegetarian for many years, Sharon recently adopted the vegan diet and has
launched a vegan brand called’ Sharon Shannons Garden of Vegan’ . This was
spearheaded by a vegan food truck which will be seen at over 30 Festivals in
Ireland and the UK during 2017.

​

​