Album Notes

Shamus Hannah- Biography

Shamus Hannah’s engaging songs of “family and home, and things that matter” are born of the stories he’s lived. Through songwriting, he says he finds a voice for things he’s always wanted to say.

Since childhood, the singer/songwriter has loved playing music, first picking out notes on his mother’s piano, and later singing country songs around the campfire. Through his teenage years, Shamus was encouraged to pursue his passion for music through singing in church, where he first experimented with songwriting. Born in Kingston, Ontario, he grew up in various corners of that Canadian province and now makes his home in Cobourg, Ontario with his wife, Mary Beth, and their three boys.

Being invited to perform at a Shelter Valley Folk Festival volunteer picnic in 2005 was a turning point in Shamus’ musical career. Rubbing shoulders with songwriters, Aengus Finnan, Jonathan Byrd, David Newland and Corin Raymond has shaped his approach to the craft. “As I listened to these musicians,” he says, “I felt more comfortable letting out some of those things that wouldn’t have been said.”

Shamus says that, for him, the songwriting process is either painstakingly slow or it comes in a torrent. “My song Daddy Knows took five years to write,” he says, ” but the lyrics for Castle came in 8 minutes on a break at work.”

His first CD, a self-titled, live recording at the Human Bean Café in Cobourg, Ontario was released in the summer of 2007. He says he enjoys the shared emotional experience found in performing for an audience. In 2008, Shamus earned his way onto the main stage at Shelter Valley, a winner of the festival’s Songwriter Showcase.

Current projects find Shamus experimenting with a trio format, joined by Vince Ruttan and Anne Cyr. As well, he’s working on his first studio recording, expected to be released in 2009.