SHAWN CRAVER
Shawn Craver's ability to lead an audience from melancholy to outright dancing with his humorous and hypnotic stage presence makes him one of the most dynamic performers in traditional music today.
"SHAWN CRAVER'S FIDDLING LIGHTS A FIRE INSIDE A PERSON. A PRODIGY FROM AN EARLY AGE, HIS VIRTUOSIC PRESENTATION OF APPALACHIAN MUSIC CREATES AN EXPERIENCE BOTH UNIVERSAL AND PERSONAL TO THE AUDIENCE. " -WICHITA EAGLE
Born into a musical family in the Appalachian Mountains, Shawn has spent the last 3 and 1/2 decades carving out a living with music coast to coast. From the little stage at the Mt. Grove, West Virginia bluegrass festival to the giant stages of the North Texas Irish Festival, he's had train song duels on trains with porters, written songs recorded by unknown bluegrass bands, played for Senators in Maryland, lived in a cave in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, busked for summer wages in Branson, played railroad festivals, Churches, paid his rent with rock-n-roll, sung his way from Santa Fe to Yosemite, wooed the daughter of a West Virginia sheep farmer with a genuine folk song, and once turned down a chance to play on The Woodsongs Old Time Radio Hour because the host requested that Shawn "not sing".
Shawn has shared concert and festival stages with the likes of Chris Thile, bluegrass legend Tim O'Brien, and Ireland's beloved Altan. A master Appalachian ballad singer and instrumentalist, Shawn is a 5 time Maryland State banjo (old-time) champion, Mid-Atlantic mandolin champion, and a recent main-stage performer at the Kansas State fiddle championship.
A musical scholar of his region's music, Shawn grew up in 1970s Appalachia and carries a lifetime of fiddle music, songs, and lore learned from friends and family in the Potomac and Allegheny Highlands of Western Maryland and West Virginia.
A wordsmith as well, Shawn Craver is a published poet, holds a Masters in Theology, and recently served as a panelist with New York Times best selling author Maria Davanah Headley. Shawn Craver's short stories and poems have appeared in Coelacanth Literary Journal, And/Both Magazine, Garrett College Literary Journal, Outrider Podcast, and America's Best Emerging Writers.
Shawn is available for master class instrument lessons, shows, interviews, and speaking engagements.
Read a recent interview with Shawn here...
TEACHER BIO:
Shawn Craver is professional musician from the Appalachians now residing in Wichita, Kansas. From the North Texas Irish Fest, to the Minnesota Bluegrass and Old Time Music Festival, to the Cumberland Celtic Fest, Shawn has shared concerts and festival stages with Chris Thile, Tim O'Brien, Altan, Bruce Molsky, and others.
Shawn is a three-time invited main stage performer at The Kansas State Fiddling Championships, a five time Maryland State Banjo Champion, guitarist, and Mid-Atlantic Mandolin Champion. Bluegrass Unlimited described his music as "...folk music that sincerely thrills.." His flat-picking on Virginia's Copper Creek Records with Dick Kimmel found a worldwide audience.
Shawn is a fixture in the Wichita scene playing hundreds of shows from the Artichoke Sandwich Bar, to Riverfest, to Stage Five. The Artichoke's Pat Audley called Shawn's band Raging Sea, "The best band in Doodah." Shawn's recent ensemble, "Appalachian Sky (formerly The Route)" just finished a four year run culminating at the Lovegrass Music Festival.
Shawn continues to promote traditional music in Wichita as organizer of World Fiddle Day Wichita and free events like "The Fiddler at Songbird Juice" every Friday in Riverside area of Wichita.
Shawn studied music theory at Garrett College, holds a Masters in Theology, and began teaching law enforcement martial arts thirty years ago. He draws from these experiences to offer students a traditional and holistic approach to music.
Shawn plays a violin by Roger Skipper (skipperstrings.com). His dreadnought guitar is a Skipper as well.
E-mail:
Phone: 316.215.1864
Web Page: https://www.shawncraverfiddler.com