Skip to main content

Article: Shannen James Announces East Coast Tour // Ivy League

Dazzling Melbourne pop-folk artist Shannen James’ long awaited debut record Patchwork is out today, alongside the announcement of a headline east coast album tour this April. 

Shannen James will be playing her dazzling new record to crowds at Brisbane’s Junk Bar on April 12, Sydney’s Low 302 on April 13, and Melbourne’s The Bergy Seltzer on April 19.

Patchwork is a record that takes shape from every experience, idea, thought and feeling Shannen James has ever had. Across 12 spirited tracks, it's a collection of songs stitched together, each showcasing different textures, patterns and colours pulled from a lifetime's worth of moments, to create one cohesive record.

A decade in the making – following the alt-pop artist’s beloved EP Arrows, two chart-toppers on triple j’s Most Played list (2020’s ‘Arrows’ and 2021’s ‘Superstitious’), endless weekends cutting her teeth at open mics and in pubs, and the challenge of condensing over 90 shimmering songs to a curated 12 – this moment is one Shannen James is ready to embrace headfirst.

“Getting an album together after such a long time, the main thing was that it didn’t have to be a ‘this’ album or a ‘that’ album; it just had to represent me. I’m an album gal, and I think listening to this record from start to finish feels like a warm hug. It’s something I’d want to listen to driving down the coast at dusk, looking out over the water, and I hope people can go and do that when they listen to it too.” 

– Shannen James

WATCH: Shannen James – 'Headlights'

The first taste of Patchwork was one of Shannen’s most buoyant pop songs to date, ‘Headlights’, born from a studio session with Hatchie and Joe Agius listening to The Cure. “I started creating this idea about relationships you have that are really fleeting because maybe they have to move to the other side of the world; a moment where you fall in love instantly and then they’re gone. It was written during Covid, during a time where it felt like the clock was running out."

Time and personal relationships are throughlines across this record, as is her sense of purposeful warm nostalgia reminiscent of Fleetwood Mac. “They’ve got everything I love – it’s pop, it’s rock, there’s country in there, but the sentiment is like folk songs. Then I got really into ‘80s sounds and became obsessed with Tears for Fears, then the first records from The 1975, who also made music really influenced by that era.” Like her own formative listening habits, the MO has always been to allow anything and everything that might excite her to seep in, regardless of category or genre. Now, she names contemporaries HAIM, Maggie Rogers and Kasey Musgraves on an ever-growing list of references.

Shannen’s commanding live performance has culminated in sold-out east coast tours, her first UK/EU headlines in 2023 after catching the eye of UK promoter Communion (Catfish and the Bottlemen, Matt Corby), invitations to showcase at Austin’s SXSW and BIGSOUND, plus supports for Valley, Men I Trust, G Flip, Slowly Slowly, Thelma Plum and Sycco. From emotional ballads to bursts of line dancing, Shannen’s love set captures joy and friendship, being in love and having your heart broken, or breaking someone else’s.

All her hard work, creative energy, and personal growth has led up to Patchwork, proving her journey is one more than worth hopping on for the ride – Shannen James is ready to have her big popstar moment. 


SHANNEN JAMES

PATCHWORK TOUR

Fri 12 Apr | Junk Bar | Brisbane, QLD

Sat 13 Apr | Low 302 | Sydney, NSW

Fri 19 Apr | The Bergy Seltzer | Melbourne, VIC

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Article: 37 // Queensland Theatre

Queensland Theatre's newest productions is stunning audiences with its powerhouse story full of all things footy, bringing community spirit, thrilling energy and intense physicality to the stage in 37, playing at the Bille Brown Theatre until 4 May. Penned by twice-named Tasmanian Aboriginal Artist of the Year, Nathan Maynard, and directed by renowned Australian director and proud Noongar man, Isaac Drandic, the co-production with Melbourne Theatre Company brings together an ensemble of 10 men to portray a local footy team’s struggle from the bottom of the ladder. Named after the immortalised number Adam Goodes wore on his AFL jersey and set within the era of his famous war-cry, 37 follows the fictional Cutting Cove Currawongs in their fight for premiership glory, which playwright Nathan Maynard described as a story many can relate to. “I won’t go into the themes I touch on in the work because that’s why I wrote the play, for both the audience and I t...
Post a Comment
Read more

Review: Scenes From a Yellow Perril - The Reaction Theory & Queensland Theatre Door 3

Written by Grace Wilson The best kind of theatre is theatre that makes people question, reflect and consider how uncomfortable questions encourage people to act and change. There are not many theatre pieces out there that can make an audience consider whether to laugh or cringe, smile or grimace. However, The Reaction Theory’s ‘Scenes From a Yellow Peril’, as a part of Queensland Theatre’s Door 3 program, masterfully manipulates the uncomfortable with the comedic, the angry with the heartfelt, and asks the audience if uncomfortable questions are worth the discoveries that come with them. ‘Scenes From A Yellow Peril’ by Chinese-New Zealand writer and poet, Nathan Joe, can truly be described as poetry on stage, a turbulent experience of communication and heightened emotions. The audience is exposed to complexities and challenges of BIPOC communities across the world in a way that does not fit the traditional theatre mould. There is no way to predict what Joe writes next; each scene chops...
Post a Comment
Read more

Review: The Norman Mailer Anecdote - Queensland Theatre (Door 3)

Written by Grace Wilson The Norman Mailer Anecdote, produced by Big Scary Animal kicked off Queensland Theatre’s Door 3 program with hard-hitting questions, complex narratives, and well-rounded performances. The Door 3 program, new to Queensland Theatre in 2024, gives space for emerging artists to create and perform pitched work with support and space contributed by Queensland Theatre. For a premiere program of this size, it was a waiting game to see how high the bar would be set, and Big Scary Animal set the precedent for Door 3 works to come.  The Norman Mailer Anecdote by Anthony Mullins explores ideas of sexual assault and the relationships that come apart in times of crisis. The work itself was confronting - it tackled these ideas through a lens of upper middle-class Australia, specifically Brisbane, and used both the lens of legal terminology and creative writing to create a wide scope when approaching the program.  The cast itself was intimate and connected - standout p...
Post a Comment
Read more