Indie Pop  (Melbourne, VIC)

A true musician, Shannen cut her teeth playing cover gigs and open mic nights as a teen in her hometown of Melbourne. “All through high school, I was playing gigs and writing songs - playing Friday, Saturday, Sunday at pubs, to drunk crowds who’d just be yelling for ‘Summer of ‘69’. But I loved that because it built up my confidence; I played hundreds of shows in that time,” she recalls. “When I first started out, I had 10 songs on my setlist, and when I finished I had about 300 songs that I could play off the top of my head. Doing that for so many years translates now to feeling super confident and knowing that I can do it.”

Shannen’s commanding live performance has culminated in sold-out east coast tours, her first UK/EU headlines this year after catching the eye of UK promoter Communion (Catfish and the Bottlemen, Matt Corby), invitations to showcase at Austin’s SXSW and BIGSOUND, plus supports for Valley, Men I Trust, G Flip, Slowly Slowly, Thelma Plum and Sycco. From emotional ballads to bursts of line dancing, Shannen’s love set captures joy and friendship, being in love and having your heart broken, or breaking someone else’s.

All her hard work, creative energy, and personal growth has led up to her debut album, "Patchwork", proving her journey is one more than worth hopping on for the ride – Shannen James is ready to have her big popstar moment.