Sharon Shannon: Music at your fingertips
Sharon Shannon literally has music at her fingertips. The accordionist from County Clare, Ireland, is not only partly responsible for the fact that the much-maligned accordion is now one of the "cool" instruments in her home country, the virtuoso musician has now achieved almost legendary status all over the world. Particularly well-versed in traditional Irish music, she has never shied away from making musical excursions and exploring the proximity to other musical styles: She is particularly well known for merging Irish folk music with a wide variety of musical genres - from country to reggae to rap.
In her long career, the versatile musician has worked with the Who is Who The band has toured and recorded with some of the biggest names in the Irish and global music industry, including Bono, Adam Clayton from U2, Steve Earle, Alison Krauss, Nigel Kennedy, Jackson Browne and The Chieftains. Several of her albums were chart toppers and even achieved platinum status. Her biggest hit, however, came in 2007 with her version of "The Galway Girl", which she performed together with Irish musician Mundy. The Meteor Irish Music Awards Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009 was certainly a highlight of her career.
In recent years, Sharon Shannon has toured the world with her big band at major festivals and on concert tours. Her tenth studio album "Sacred Earth" was released in spring 2017.