Shawn James

Shawn James is a singer-songwriter and a guitarist currently based in Seattle, but originally from Chicago, which informs his heavily blues-oriented work, whether it is acoustic or electric, conventional or rock-tinged. Stylistically, his music extends into rock, folk, and soul as well, and he is not a stranger to straighten up acoustic guitar driven ballads. However, the home base he returns to is that grimy slide guitar sound just burning through his blues. He has a remarkably powerful voice that can go soft and smooth on quieter passages and then belt it out with the best of them, bursting with that classic gruff quality that is a key ingredient in blues and roots rock. His songs are melodically strong and memorable. His 2020 album The Guardian Collection has some of his electric songs in a previous record re-cast as acoustic pieces.