Shawn Colvin
NOT MANY WRITERS ARE ABLE TO DO WHAT SHAWN DOES. IT’S A VERY SPECIAL WAY OF RELATING WHAT REALLY MATTERS. IT TAKES AN ORIGINAL TO GET OUR ATTENTION. SHAWN IS UTTERLY ORIGINAL IN HER SINGING, AND ORIGINAL IN WHAT SHE SPEAKS ABOUT IN HER SONGS.” – JACKSON BROWNE
In an era when female singer-songwriters are ever more ubiquitous, Shawn Colvin stands out as a singular and enduring talent. Her songs are slow-release works of craft and catharsis that become treasured, lifetime companions for their listeners. As a storyteller, Colvin is both keen and warm-hearted, leavening even the toughest tales with tenderness, empathy, and a searing sense of humor. In the 30 years since the release of her debut album, Colvin has won three GRAMMY Awards, released thirteen albums, written a critically acclaimed memoir, maintained a non-stop national and international touring schedule, appeared on countless television and radio programs, had her songs featured in major motion pictures and created a remarkable canon of work.
Colvin was born in Vermillion, South Dakota, where she lived until she was eight. A small-town childhood in the university town of Carbondale, IL. drew her to the guitar by the age of 10. She made her first public appearance on campus at the University of Illinois at age 15. By the late 1970’s Colvin was singing in a Western Swing band in Austin, TX.—the city she now calls home. She moved to New York at the decade’s end as a member of the Buddy Miller Band where she met producer, guitarist and co-writer John Leventhal. Leventhal inspired Colvin to find her own voice as a songwriter. She began honing her skill and was soon signed to Columbia Records. Her first album, Steady On, produced by Leventhal, won the GRAMMY Award for Best Contemporary Folk Recording.
Colvin continued to win fans and impress critics with subsequent releases, Fat City (1992) and Cover Girl (1994). In 1996 she released A Few Small Repairs, also produced by Leventhal, which would prove to be her breakthrough. The song “Sunny Came Home” gave Colvin a Top 10 hit, a platinum-selling album and two of GRAMMY’s biggest honors: Record of the Year and Song of the Year.
Colvin was most recently honored with an induction into the 2019 Austin City Limits Hall of Fame, alongside legendary artists Lyle Lovett and Buddy Guy. In a moving induction speech, Jackson Browne praised her as “ineffable” – ‘that which is impossible to express in words’ – and extolled, “Not many writers are able to do what Shawn does. It’s a very special way of relating what really matters. It takes an original to get our attention. Shawn is utterly original in her singing, and original in what she speaks about in her songs.”
Over the course of three decades, Shawn Colvin has established herself as a captivating performer and a revered storyteller, well-deserving of the commendation of her peers and the devoted audiences who have been inspired by her artistry. As she enters her thirtieth year as a songwriter and performer, she continues to reaffirm her status as a vital voice in music.