Wow. 2022 was an incredible year and I'm ridiculously excited about what's in store for 2023 already! I'm sitting in my shared rented apartment in Nashville after I've been here for 14 months now. Here's a scene for you (imagine a Ghosts of Christmas Past type of thing)
18-year-old Shanna: Homework stinks. I'm gonna learn guitar instead.
23-year-old Shanna: Being a nanny is fun. That was a solid use of my college degree. I love writing songs and performing!
26-year-old Shanna: Wait, people I've never heard of make a LIVING sharing songs and performing? I wanna do THAT! Thank you song school!
30-something-year-old Shanna: Hey 18-year-old Shanna, did you know that you're going to make your entire living singing your songs for people? And mentoring other songwriters and writing custom songs for people to use as meaningful presents? You're gonna go to Europe three times playing music! You're going to play big stages at festivals and people will play your CD in their car! You're going to move to Nashville and tour every month! Because of an epic platform called Patreon, you'll even have a direct way to connect with your biggest fans and they'll pay your rent!
18-year-old Shanna: STAAAHP LYING TO ME ARE YOU FOR REAL???
40-year-old Shanna: Taylor Swift just called me up, she needs a co-writer for this song idea she's got, and she thought of me. I think I'll do it.
----and scene. ------
2023 by the numbers!
Most importantly:
FannaShannas on Patreon: 262, 2271/month
When we reach 4000/month, my goal is to get my own place so I can have creative privacy and space to livestream and create elevated video quality content for you guys.
Goal is 1000 True Fans!
FINALLY RELEASED MY DEBUT RECORD Robot! Thank you Adam Dawson and Ken Stahl for all your help spreading the word! Thank you Megan Burtt and John McVey for making me a beautiful record!
On Road for: 155/365 days
# of Shows: 121 (includes Livestreamed shows on other people's channels and Monthly Patreon Parties)
-- PLUS 60 days of going Live on FB
Touring Life:
January- 9. Texas tour
February- 14. Florida tour
March- 14. Colorado & Texas tour. Opened for Steve Poltz at eTown!
April- 13. Midwestern tour. Played the Bluebird in Nashville!
May- 14. Texas, Virginia, North Carolina, Kansas City! Played Kerrville Folk Festival, released Robot album!!
June- 7. Colorado and Philly tours!
July- 8. Colorado and Connecticut tours! Goshenstock and Falcon Ridge Folk Festival!
August- 8. Colorado! Won the RMSS contest and got to play at Rocky Mountain Folks Fest!
September- 9. Connecticut, North Carolina, Texas!
October- 9. Connecticut and Texas tours! Black Bear Americana Fest, Dipping Springs Songwriter Fest!
November- 11. PA, NY, NJ, VA! Godfrey Daniels, oppened for Susan Werner!
December- 5. Nashville with a short personal trip out to Montana
New songs: 24
You Don't Even Know, Sand, Seagull, Sweet Spot, Rip It Open, Better Than You Found It, I Used To, Other Woman, Paris, If This Is Over, Learn Me, 31 Days, Sorry Fluffy, Too Serious, Boy From Virginia, Stick it to the Man, Trying to Be, 3 Minutes at a Time, Raise My Hell Up, Dangerous Addictions, I'm Gonna Be Happy, Nomo Fomo, I Married You, Hold Me (plus some Custom Song Presents)
Almosts: 14
Falling for a Creative, Baby Don't Wake Me, Talented Children, I Wish, Badass Bitch, Nashville, Woo Woo, Sink my head, Guest House, Guilty Pleasure, Tornado, Stray, Objectify, Swan Effect
Got to co-write with: David Wilcox, Steve Seskin, Tom Prasada-Rao, Jamie Floyd, Claire Kelly, Grace Morrison, Daniel Neihoff, Koli Kohler, Abigayle Kompst, Lindsay Foote, Zach Berkman, Brian Kalinec, Nancy Deckant & Cindi, Clint Alphin, Grace Pettis, Molli McMills, Keenan Shepherd, Tai Shan
Epic co-bills: Rachael Kilgour, Steve Poltz!, Kemp Harris, Susan Werner, Antje Duvekot, Adam Ezra, Alice Howe & Freebo & Brian Kalinec joined me at Kerrville, Guest on Ellis Paul's livestream, Christine Lavin (2021)
Worked with Wilson Harwood at Elevated Music to produce some tracks, recorded with Shawn Byrne on a few tracks, recorded some with Seth Glier!
Sold out of all of the Shanna in a Dress on a Bike t-shirts! That means we get to make a new design!
Joined the Black Oak Artists roster and got my rad booking agent, JD Miller!
My righthand man and most dedicated team member Kevin Nordlie moved to a merchandise, advancing, and promotional role
Other fun things:
-- Got see my family more this year than I ever have in all my Colorado years!
-- Girls trip with the besties in Mexico!
-- I took improv classes! I was bad! ha! But they're so fun!
-- Started learning to cook! I'm braising a rump roast in the oven as we speak! (I just wanted an excuse to say rump. what a cute word)
-- MY ROOM IS CLEAN and has been for more than 2 months! Contrary to what I claim in "wanna go out" I actually DO make my bed now! Shanna's growing up!
-- Quit sugar and flour (and hair pulling) to help stop my binge eating and it's working!
-- Read >25 books!
Vanity/ Sanity/ Meaningless Stats:
Average Shannanigans Newsletter open rate: 41.4% (You mean 59% of you don't read my epic emails? WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?)
FB likes: 4238 followers
Instagram followers: 3023
YouTube videos: 112
YouTube subscribers: 1845
BandsInTown followers: 733
TikTok followers: 99 (funny considering I've never posted)
Spotify followers: 94 monthly listeners
2022 Festival Life:
Kerrville Folk Festival!
Falcon Ridge Folk Festival!
Black Bear Americana Fest!
Antlers and Acorns Songwriting Festival!
Dripping Springs Songwriter Festival!
Rocky Mountain Folks Fest pavilion stage!
Significant Performances (outside of the rad festivals):
Won the Rocky Mountain Songwriter Contest and get to play Folks Fest MainStage next year!
Official SWRFA Showcase
Opened for Steve Poltz at eTown!
Opened for Susan Werner at Godfrey Daniels!
Opened for Christine Lavin at NJ Folk Project! (in nov 2021)
Opened for Antje Duvekot in Richmond!
Opening for Adam Ezra at Goshenstock!
Teaching/Service positions:
-Judged in the New Folk Songwriting Competition
-Taught beginning songwriting and funny songwriting workshops at Black Bear
-Taught mindset workshop at Rocky Mountain Song School and it was a hit!
-Moderated a co-writing panel at NERFA
-2 panels at SWRFA and led a mindset workshop
-Began coaching and consulting with various artists
Projects that I've Begun:
-Athena Movement
-book, Lazy Person's Guide on How to Make Friends
-CLAPS methodology workshop
Things I Want:
Write a song with Taylor Swift! Open for Ingrid Michaelson! Go on tour with Poltzy!
My own place in Nashville!
A really pro music video for Mmm That's Hot, Face Like Yours, Shelli, Seagull, Sweet Spot! Also You Don't Even Know and Stacy!
My WHY is that I want to bring joy to everybody on the planet! I'm realizing how small I've been playing by chasing a thriving indie music career and I have been the recipient of SO much kindness that it's time to shift more attention to service in 2023.
What I'm realizing is that we could make a far greater impact on the world than simply through my music, and I've decided 2023 is the Year of Contribution. I'm going to start teaching songwriting to ex-offenders at this really cool organization called Dolmas House in Nashville. I'm also going to LOVE on all the FannaShannas who have supported me to such an extreme degree across these past few years!
Let's also put together a group of volunteers who would want to contribute at Project Somos Children's Village in Guatemala for a week. I'm headed there in February and I'm thinking October might be a good 2nd time to go back! Priority for spaces will go to FannaShanna Patreon members. I also have an idea cooking that will allow female creatives to band together and support one another in achieving their dreams.
PHEW!!! 2022 was busy and wonderful and I'm privileged to get to do this life on the shoulders of all the folks helping me, hosting me, spreading my music, booking me for house concerts, festivals, and private events. I really couldn't do it without you. Thank you FannaShannas for allowing me the freedom to move to Nashville and keep pursuing my dreams, for sending me gifts, believing in me, and staying engaged with the endless amount of content I'm cranking out. Thank you Kevin Nordlie, Ken Stahl, Ira Grollman, and Warren Shaklee for going above and beyond dedicating yourselves to SiaD.
I thought I'd be living in suburbia with a husband and 2.5 kids by now. Life took a different turn and it's been a wild ride and I suspect 2023 is going to be even wilder!
<3 Shanna in a black-and-white swing Dress