New Orleans’ pioneering voice in “alt-rocka-countrybilly serial killer blues,” Shawn Williams sounds like the result of a dirtier-minded Elvis deciding to get it on in the back of some roadhouse saloon with one of those sad-eyed cowboy types that would rather be drinking alone.
Her debut album Shadow (March 2017) is a skillfully-mastered collection of originals that moves seamlessly from old-school R&B-inflected rockers to softer, wistful numbers that evoke the broken-hearted melancholia of the desert. Idiosyncratic, catchy, and rich with local talent, the tracks showcase Williams’ impressive musicianship and unique capabilities as a songwriter. New Orleans’ OffBeat Magazine says, “it’s an impressively mature debut album,”
Williams’ sophomore release Motel Livin’ (June 2018) “throbs with some of 2018’s best-written songs,” says Europe’s Country Music People magazine.
On recording as in live performance, she conveys a sense of rawness, a depth of feeling, and a lack of pretension that set her apart from the rest of the city’s pool of talented up-and-coming musicians.
Shawn has opened for national touring artists such as the Queen of Rockabilly – Wanda Jackson, Sarah Shook & The Disarmers, Corey Smith, and more.
Aside from her own music, she is also the founder of the all-female Elvis tribute band, Pelvis Breastlies.