Meet Shanna of Shanna in a Dress in Boulder

Today we’d like to introduce you to Shanna.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I was a freshman at the University of Virginia when I started teaching myself guitar and writing songs after spending much of middle and high school pouring over the lyric book in my CDs of 90s pop stars. A band kid, not a singer, and never really identified as a musician at all, but writing songs was the first thing I wanted to do with every new chord progression I learned. I had a surprise concert in our orchestra’s concert hall- meaning I invited 80+ friends to come out to a “surprise event” and I debuted all of the songs I’d been writing on guitar, ukulele, and piano. I planned out a full setlist of 10 original songs, banter, crowd participation, and a rap for my encore, and it was so well-received that it changed the course of my life since.

I graduated with a degree in kinesiology and then tried my hand at “being a singer-songwriter” (recording and EP, performing shows, teaming up with my songwriter friend Scott T who held my hand a lot along the way) while working as a nanny and living in Charlottesville, VA before a cross-country charity bike riding trip introduced me to Boulder and I fell in love with Colorado. I moved out here in 2014.

Now I’m still playing shows, but my livelihood as shifted to teaching private guitar,ukulele, piano, French horn, and singing lessons, I’ve gone on 3 European tours and a few local ones, playing almost 100 shows last year and hosting a monthly showcase called Women in Song. My Kickstarter for my first debut full length album reached 50% in the first day last year and was successfully funded 200% and I’m working on that album right now, due to be released in Jan 2020. I’ve been Honorable Mention in 2 prestigious songwriting competitions, and now I’m dreaming bigger, hoping to co-write with Taylor Swift, tour with Ingrid Michaelson, and amp up my touring schedule.

Performing is definitely my calling, and I have so much fun pushing the limit of vulnerability and authenticity while putting on an entertaining show. My songs are toeing the line of inappropriate, but they’ve been called playful, fun, witty, honest, and real, and I hope to keep getting adding more to that list. Sorry if this is way more info than you wanted and all your next questions are going to ask me the same thing!

Has it been a smooth road?
In hindsight, moving to Colorado actually really resulted in me abandoning the fanbase and everything that I’d built in Virginia before coming. So much of my music career has been built on live shows, not recordings or a killer online presence. I toured back to VA recently and it was a humbling reminder that if you don’t nurture the relationships often, you lose them, as evidenced by the attendance at my shows.

Most of my struggles haven’t been one-time incidences, but just dealing with insecurity about whether I’m good enough or have what it takes in such a competitive industry, where you’re unlikely to ever strike it big. The ebb and flow of how motivated I am to work on the business side of things, which feels like such a gamble, has definitely been a roller coaster, compared to steady improvement of my commitment to the craft of songwriting and improving my musicianship and performance skills.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
Shanna in a Dress- quirky folk pop from a clever millennial who sucks at dating, from your best friend who refuses to wear pants. Think Jason Mraz mixed with Taylor Swift mixed with Phoebe Buffay from Friends. I’m a performer who cares more that you have fun than if you like my music. But… I hope you like my music too. I’m known for my clever lyrics, dirty sense of humor, endless amount of wordplay, ability to make audiences laugh and cry within seconds of each other. I just came back from a month long European tour, and here was the last message a show host sent me:
It was a pleasure to meet you Shanna. it was so refreshing because you’re so open, extremely talented and a very funny lyrical genius – seriously!! Such an honour to have been in a position to host you!!

Anyway, I’m most proud of the entertainment value I bring to being a singer-songwriter. I’ve seen many shows that are a guy or girl with a guitar singing their feelings, and even though they have talent, I’m bored. At a Shanna show, we’ll chat back and forth, you’ll sing and clap along, you’ll laugh, you’ll feel things and you’ll leave knowing way more about me and my life than you couldve gotten from a coffee date, and hopefully makes you think of your own in a more introspective way.

The whole point of music is connecting with others and the personal songs I write and who I’m able to be when I perform brings that to the next level. When you write this, can you make me sound less conceited? 🙂

Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Absolutely. The music community in Denver and Boulder is really hopping and supportive of each other, and the competition forces you to keep getting better. It’s NOT the best for high-paying gigs. I’ve heard that you can make way more from bar gigs rural states than here, since there are so many musicians here willing to play for less and brings everyone’s prices down.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.shannainadress.com
• Email: shannainadress@gmail.com

Image Credit:
Brandon Lewis

Getting in touch: VoyageDenver is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.