ABOUT SHAWN
Shawn Craver was born and raised in Appalachia in a musical family. He learned his first 12 verse ballad from his grandmother and one of his first gigs was in Morgantown, WV in 1986 when he was 15. As a teen Shawn left Appalachia with a guitar and crisscrossed the U.S.A. by train, plane, and thumb. Since then he's shared festival and concert stages with the likes of Chris Thile, Altan, Dervish, and Tim O'Brien.
A deft instrumentalist, Craver is a recent main stage performer at the Kansas State Fiddling Championships, a 5 time Maryland banjo champ (Old Time), and Mid-Atlantic mandolin champ. His guitar work can be found on Dick Kimmel's "Fishing Creek Blues" released by Virginia's Copper Creek Records in 2000. Bluegrass Unlimited described Craver's 1999 release "Over the Blue Ridge" as "a treasure trove..."
With decades of road stories and mountain lore under his belt, Shawn is a wordsmith who recently served as a panelist with New York Times best selling author Maria Davanah Headley. Craver's writings appear in Coelacanth Literary Journal, And/Both Magazine, Outrider Podcast, and America's Best Emerging writers. Shawn just completed writing his first novel and the manuscript is available for review.
PAST PERFORMANCES
National Endowment for the Arts and Humanities, Rocky Gap State Park Cumberland, Maryland, Yosemite National Park, California, Tiffany Tavern Alexandria Virginia, Coolfont Concert Series Berkeley Springs West Virginia, Renfrew Museum Waynesboro Pennsylvania, Windrush Gallery Friendsville, Maryland, Newman University Wichita Kansas, North Texas Irish Festival Dallas Texas, Sioux River Folk Festival Canton South Dakota, Mankato State University Mankota Minnesota, 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, Garrett College McHenry Maryland, 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 MN, Dulono's Pizza Minneapolis, The Orpheum Wichita Kansas,Pearl Street Mall Boulder Colorado,Cumberland Maryland Celtic Festival,Spencer Iowa Bluegrass Festival, Riverfest Wichita Kansas,Mt. Grove Bluegrass Festival Mt. Grove West Virginia,The 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, Courtyard Santa Fe New Mexico, Cumberland Rail Festival Cumberland Maryland, Helena Montana Concert Series, Dulono's Pizza Minneapolis Minnesota and more...