Shannon Stephens Reissue

Produced by Stephens and her former Marzuki bandmates Sufjan Stevens and Matthew Haseltine, this superb collection of Shannon's own songs includes contributions by Marzuki cellist Jamie Kempkers, Kenny Hutson (Vigilantes of Love) on pedal steel guitar, Mews and Mews Too contributors Roman Bolks and Jason Brouwer, and folk mainstay Jason Harrod. With new artwork and two previously unreleased bonus tracks, this release will delight newcomers and faithful fans.

Shannon Stephens began her musical career in 1994 as the voice of the band Marzuki, a folk-rock ensemble assembled by Sufjan Stevens. After Marzuki disbanded, Shannon began to perform and record on her own.

She recorded her self-titled debut LP in 1999, the same year she moved to Seattle and shared the stage with the likes of Denison Witmer, Rose Thomas, Jason Harrod and Damien Jurado. But by the time the new album had come back from the manufacturer, she had realized that all this music stuff was a lot of work.

The boxes went into her garage and collected dust for nine years while she got married, read copious amounts of books, had a daughter, and did lots of hippy stuff like growing potatoes, canning preserves, and making kombucha. In 2008, one of her songs ("I'll Be Glad") was covered by Bonnie "Prince" Billy on his album Lie Down In The Light. In 2009, Shannon released her second album, The Breadwinner, which Rachel Carson at Exclaim! described as "...a spectacularly beautiful and fiercely compelling sophomore album" and Sufjan Stevens called "...a joyful, heartful collection of quiet, gorgeous songs about family, friends, work, love, and the beauty of the world at large."