Shane Hennessy
About
Shane has developed an unmistakably unique voice as a fingerstyle guitarist, blending his native Irish music with elements of jazz, country, blues, funk, classical, soul, world, and hip-hop, both vocally and instrumentally. His live shows are known for their energy and variety - listeners can expect anything from Bach to Beyoncé! He has released four albums of original music - Zephyrus (2015), and Marrakech (2017), and most recently Rain Dance (2020), and Idircheol (2020).
In 2019, Shane was a firm favourite on the festival scene in the United States, appearing at prestigious roots festivals such as MerleFest, Appaloosa, and the Philadelphia Folk Fest, as well as numerous Irish and Celtic Festivals including Milwaukee Irish Fest, Kansas City Irish Fest, Irish Fest Chicago, Michigan Irish Music Fest, Music City Nashville Irish Fest and many more. As well as his own musical output, Shane has also worked as a songwriter with Chloë Agnew of Celtic Woman, and the Ashley Davis band.
A major achievement to date has been a sold-out a solo show in Ireland’s National Concert Hall for the release of Marrakech. In 2020 Shane released Rain Dance on a livestream supported by Culture Ireland’s #IrelandPerforms initiative which garnered an enormous worldwide audience of 120,000 viewers. He also received funding from The Arts Council of Ireland to produce Idircheol - an album of solo guitar music that combines Irish traditional influences with his unique fingerstyle guitar approach, music from which featured in the 2020 TG4 Television production ‘Samhlú’.
Shane performed as the lead guitarist in a six-piece ensemble for the 2018 world première of ‘Educo’ by Riverdance composer and Grammy-winner Bill Whelan. Shane is also a MusicNotes.com Signature Artist, and is an official educator and course creator with the TrueFire teaching platform.
In 2021, Shane featured on the Temple Bar TradFest and FleadhFest television broadcasts in Ireland, and was given the 2021 Male Musician Of The Year Award by the ALSR (American Listener-Supported Radio) Awards. Shane returned to live performance from September 2021, and is currently working on new music to be released in 2022.
Shane Hennessy is an Irish virtuoso fingerstyle guitarist, singer/songwriter, & composer. He has performed at major festivals such as MerleFest, Appaloosa, and Philly Folk Fest. Irish Music Magazine have called him "one of the most exciting live performers of his generation".
Coming from a background in Irish traditional music, Shane has been captivating audiences globally for the past few years, with sell-out solo tours in Europe, Russia, and the United States under his belt, as well as regular appearances at major international music festivals. He has released four albums of original music, and his most recent album ‘Rain Dance’ has been hailed as “a triumphant reaffirmation of his virtuosity and compositional excellence” by Irish Music Magazine. Shane has collaborated with Tommy Emmanuel, worked with Grammy-winner Bill Whelan (composer of Riverdance), and was named Male Musician Of The Year at the 2021 American Listener-Supported Radio Awards.
Coming from a background in Irish traditional music, Shane has been captivating audiences globally for the past few years, with sell-out solo tours in Europe, Russia, and the United States under his belt, as well as regular appearances at major international music festivals. He has released four albums of original music, and his most recent album ‘Rain Dance’ has been hailed as “a triumphant reaffirmation of his virtuosity and compositional excellence” by Irish Music Magazine. Shane has collaborated with Tommy Emmanuel, worked with Grammy-winner Bill Whelan (composer of Riverdance), and was named Male Musician Of The Year at the 2021 American Listener-Supported Radio Awards.
Shane has developed an unmistakably unique voice as a fingerstyle guitarist, blending his native Irish music with elements of jazz, country, blues, funk, classical, soul, world, and hip-hop, both vocally and instrumentally. His live shows are known for their energy and variety - listeners can expect anything from Bach to Beyoncé! He has released four albums of original music - Zephyrus (2015), and Marrakech (2017), and most recently Rain Dance (2020), and Idircheol (2020).
In 2019, Shane was a firm favourite on the festival scene in the United States, appearing at prestigious roots festivals such as MerleFest, Appaloosa, and the Philadelphia Folk Fest, as well as numerous Irish and Celtic Festivals including Milwaukee Irish Fest, Kansas City Irish Fest, Irish Fest Chicago, Michigan Irish Music Fest, Music City Nashville Irish Fest and many more. As well as his own musical output, Shane has also worked as a songwriter with Chloë Agnew of Celtic Woman, and the Ashley Davis band.
A major achievement to date has been a sold-out a solo show in Ireland’s National Concert Hall for the release of Marrakech. In 2020 Shane released Rain Dance on a livestream supported by Culture Ireland’s #IrelandPerforms initiative which garnered an enormous worldwide audience of 120,000 viewers. He also received funding from The Arts Council of Ireland to produce Idircheol - an album of solo guitar music that combines Irish traditional influences with his unique fingerstyle guitar approach, music from which featured in the 2020 TG4 Television production ‘Samhlú’.
Shane performed as the lead guitarist in a six-piece ensemble for the 2018 world première of ‘Educo’ by Riverdance composer and Grammy-winner Bill Whelan. Shane is also a MusicNotes.com Signature Artist, and is an official educator and course creator with the TrueFire teaching platform.
In 2021, Shane featured on the Temple Bar TradFest and FleadhFest television broadcasts in Ireland, and was given the 2021 Male Musician Of The Year Award by the ALSR (American Listener-Supported Radio) Awards. Shane returned to live performance from September 2021, and is currently working on new music to be released in 2022.