Southern Winds Film Festival 2008

From the red dirt roads near her hometown of Okemah, Oklahoma, south to the Rio Grande, north to Calgary, west to the Pacific, and east to Korea, Shawna Russell has covered the map performing and making music her life. With a voice that must be heard, her sound contains a lifetime of influences gathered from a family with deep musical roots, and a decade of touring the world playing music and singing. Shawna’s musical influences are diverse: Bonnie Raitt, Sheryl Crow, Stevie Nicks, Trisha Yearwood and Martina McBride. While these artists flavor her sound, her style is uniquely her own. Music has always been Shawna's destiny. Her father and uncles - on both sides of the family - have been involved in successful country bands for over 30 years. Many of her first childhood memories are of going to rehearsals and following her dad’s bands all around Oklahoma. Encouraged by a family member, she made her first public appearance at age seven, singing in a church Christmas program. Her first paid performances were singing the National Anthem at campaign rallies for a gubernatorial candidate in Oklahoma. After the election, Shawna and her father, Keith, traveled the Oklahoma countryside playing for “anyone who would listen”—family gatherings or Christmas parties. When she was 13, they formed a full-fledged country band playing at clubs and Elks Lodges nearly every weekend. "Dad was teaching school at the time and would have to hurry home, so we could get our gear loaded and set up to play," says Shawna. "It was pretty hectic, but lots of fun!" Four years later, a Nashville agent saw her perform and remarked that she had “everything it takes to be a superstar.” At that point, she joined her uncle Tim’s band, "Way Out West," which was already a successful regional band on the “A” club circuit. From those beginnings, Shawna has now toured across much of the U.S., performing 2-6 nights a week, up to 5 sets a night, at many of the top live music clubs on the circuit, including The Grizzly Rose in Denver; Billy Bob’s in Ft. Worth; and the Wildhorse Saloon in Nashville. Shawna carries her weight on stage - she sings, plays acoustic rhythm, slide and lead guitar, and occasionally saxophone. She has spent the last three years on the road touring with fellow Oklahoman, Ty England (of Garth Brook’s fame), before releasing her long-awaited debut CD and going solo. On March 4, 2008, Shawna celebrated the national release of her debut CD, Goddess, on Way Out West Records, with a VIP event during CRS-39 in Nashville. Her second single is currently at radio. Goddess was recorded in Oklahoma City and produced by Tim Russell and Ted Curtis at Upstairs Productions Studio, and includes some of the top music industry professionals in the business. Impressed by Shawna’s voice, several world-famous musicians came to Oklahoma in order to record with her, including Russ Kunkel, drummer for Carly Simon and James Taylor, and David Santos, bassist for Elton John, Billy Joel and John Fogerty. They were joined by Grammy-winning vocal engineer, Julian King, who has worked with country superstars, Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, and Toby Keith. Nathaniel Kunkel, whose recent clients include Diana Ross and The Police, mixed the album. Early buzz from music industry insiders predict that Goddess will finally give Shawna her long-awaited break. Shawna co-wrote 12 of the 13 songs on Goddess. “Most of the songs were written with my dad, Keith, and my uncle Tim,” she states. “It was the most amazing thing – we would get together with just some rough ideas, and several hours later, we would have these killer tunes. We joked that we were ‘channeling’ Woody Guthrie! (Also an Okemah native). Retro and rockin’- to country and contemplative, Shawna Russell stakes her claim with a vocal intensity that will not be denied. It is clear that she means business.