WHERE YOU MIGHT'VE HEARD SHAWN
North Texas Irish Festival Dallas Texas,Sioux River Folk Festival Canton South Dakota,KS State Fiddling & Picking Championships Lawrence Kansas,The Friendly Inn Ellicott City Maryland,Owl and Monkey San Francisco California,Cross Ranch Bluegrass Festival Cross Ranch North Dakota,Winfield Art in the Park Winfield Kansas,Pipestone Performing Arts Pipestone MN,Society For the Preservation of Bluegrass Music,Downtown Concert Series Helena Montana, Minnesota Bluegrass and Old Time Association Winter Weekend, Minneapolis, MNDulono's Pizza MinneapolisThe Orpheum Wichita, KansasPearl Street Mall Boulder Colorado,Cumberland Maryland Celtic Festival,Spencer Iowa Bluegrass Festival,Garrett Community College McHenry Maryland,Coolfont Concert Series Berkelely Springs West Virginia,Mankato State University Mankota Minnesota,Riverfest Wichita Kansas,Mt. Grove Bluegrass Festival Mt. Grove West Virginia,The Tiffany Tavern Alexandria Virginia,Renfrew Museum Waynesboro Pennsylvania,Songwriter Showcase Branson Missouri,Maxwells Morgantown West Virginia,Cumberland Rail Festival Cumberland Maryland,Big Island Rendezevous Albert Lea Minnesota,Chisholm Trail Festival Abilene Kansas,Chatauqua Bismarck North Dakota,Chapel Hill Concert Series Wichita Kansas,Highland Festival McHenry Maryland,College Hill Concerts Wichita Kansas,Old Courthouse Concert Series Sioux Falls South Dakota, Owl and Monkey San Francisco California, Maxwell's Morgantown West Virginia, Courtyard Santa Fe New Mexico, Cumberland Rail Festival Cumberland Maryland, Helena Montana Concert Series, Dulono's Pizza Minneapolis Minnesota...
ABOUT SHAWN CRAVER
Shawn is a recent main stage performer at The Kansas State Fiddling Championships, a five time Maryland State Banjo Champion, guitarist, and Mid-Atlantic Mandolin Champion. From the little stage at the Mt. Grove, West Virginia to 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 Tim O'Brien, Ireland's Altan, Bruce Molsky, and others. Bluegrass Unlimited described his 1997 release "Over the Blue Ridge" as "...folk music that sincerely thrills and delights." His flat-picking on Dick Kimmel's album "Fishing Creek Blues" released by Virginia's Copper Creek Records in 2000 found a worldwide audience.
For the past 25 years Shawn Craver has rambled and roamed and made a living with music. Shawn Craver has opened for Chris Thile, had train song duels on trains with porters, 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, busked is 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"....
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 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.
PERFOMING AT THE SAME FESTIVALS, CONCERTS, AND STAGES WITH:
Chris Thile, Altan, Old Salt Union, Chain Station, The L7s (Bruce Molsky), Tim O'Brien, Jeff Pearson (Bob Weir's Furthur), Dervish, Delmar Delaney, Nashville Bluegrass Band, Dick Kimmel, Bonnie Rideout, Bob Bovee and Gail Heil, Dustin Arbuckle, The House Band, The Rough and Tumble...
MASTER CLASSES
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 formal teaching experiences to offer students a structured, yet holistic approach to music.
Just as he learned in the Appalachian Mountains, Shawn believes that folk music is best learned "by ear." Breaking down tunes and songs into phrases that are shared and explored, Shawn teaches that notes and technique are one thing, but music is another.
Emphasis is placed on phrasing, emotion, and context. Shawn's students learn how to summon these elements to create an electrifying musical performance.