Sally Shuffield
Durango, Colorado, United States | INDIE
Music
Press
"It doesn't take long to know if a disc is great or not; Sally Shuffield's "Ties That Bind," most definately fits the former category. Lyrical content and melody are wedded with ease and crowned with Sally's gorgeous voice. A deep intelligence fuels these songs; the listener need only be open to their sense of nuance." - George Francis Maida, "The Electric Croude"
"Her voice goes down smooth and easy and she's comfortable with her music...If you love the bluegrass without the nasal twang, well-sritten traditional themes, pretty vocals and great instrumentation that mixes a little country and Americana into the sound, then this (album) is one for your listening collection and pleasure." - Les Reynolds
"It's a rare musician that knows the power of simplicity, and singer/songwriter Sally Shuffield-with her easy melodies and wonderfully unaggected voice-is one of them..."Ties That Bind is a nice balance of Iris Dement/Nanci Griffith style contemporary material." - Greg Glasgow
"Although she shares a regional home and vocal style with othe Ozark angel, Iris Dement, Shuffield's decade-long stay in the West has tinged her song-writing with themes of coyotes and canyons, as well as lost love and rambling songs. There are plenty of reasons to be glad Shuffield rode west." - Amy Rienholds
"The sublimely-voiced Sally Shuffield...has a way of making a good tune look easy." - Nathaniel Miller
"All thirteen tracks are Sally's own composition, this statistic alone demonstrating her confidence in her own material, which in this intance is not misplaced...There's real quality in these songs, but also a suprisingly broad stylistic ambit." - David Kidman
"A very engaging effort for Shuffield's sophomore CD, and it should enhance her growing reputation as an emerging singer/songwriter in the Iris Dement tradition." - Colorado Bluegrass Society
"There's a feeling of reflection, a reverence in the presentation that's well suited to the earnest, soulsearching music that Shuffield writes. Shuffield captures the ability to make a sparse melody soar." - Laura Bond
"Great singing, great songs, and some fantastic production. We weren't able to put the CD down. Get one of your own and let's see if you can let go of it." - Roz and Howard Larman
"Offering a coutrified Catie Curtis style to her music...the songwriting is stron, pubeat and the musical arrangements bode well with the overall tone of the CD, complimented by Sally's strong vocals." - Deborah Keith
Discography
Something in the Water (2006) - Charted nationally on the Folk DJ Charts and the FAR Charts.
Ties That Bind (2001) - Played on over 100 radio stations nationally and overseas.
Backroads of My Mind (1999)
Compilations:
-"Rythms of Durango" CD to put out by the City of Durango to promote Durango musicians (2006)
-"Slickrock and Sagebush" benefitting the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (2000)
Single-“Alaska Skies,” Song that pays tribute the the Arctic Refuge and the Porcupine Caribou Herd. $1 of every sale goes to benefit the Alaska Wilderness League. (2004)
Photos
Bio
Highlights - Charted on the FAR Charts, 2007; Charted on the Folk DJ Charts, 2006; KRCL Founder's Title Songwriting Finalist, 2006; Avalonfest Songwriting Finalist, 2005; Southpark Music Festival Showcase Selection, 2005; San Juan NF Artist in Residence, 2004; Silverton Jubilee Songwriting Finalist, 2003
Folk/roots songwriter, Sally Shuffield’s, songs take the listener on a journey through the west of the 1800s, small town America, the emotions of love and loss, motherhood, the politics of war, and the search for meaning and redemption in every day life. Her music draws upon a vast life experience from her master’s degree in anthropology, to her other career in the environmental/nonprofit arena, to motherhood. She calls Durango, Colorado, home and draws inspiration from the beauty and serenity of small town mountain living.
Sally’s third CD, “Something in the Water,” released in February 2006, follows the rootsy style of her earlier CDs, but also experiments with a couple of non-acoustic numbers, as well a tune that is strictly bluegrass. According to Bill Hahn of the folk radio show, “Traditions,” “Sally’s sound is new, yet has that wonderful old timey feeling.” Her themes include profound insights into history, including the Mountain Meadow Massacre, the Civil War, and the taming of the west, in addition to songs that address the universal yearnings and ramblings of humanity. Like her earlier CDs, “Something in the Water,” attracted some of Colorado’s best musicians, including Greg Schochet, Sally VanMeter, Pete Wernick and many others.
Sally’s performance consists of her original songs, intertwined with stories of the cultures of different regions. Growing up in Arkansas, she experienced her grandparents’ rural roots and their connection to the land. Many of her songs are about this region, and the stories she tells to accompany her songs are filled with Arkansas personalities and characters from the Depression days to the Baptist bible town where she was raised. Her songs also tell the story of a modern day migrant to the west, rambling through western mining towns, the canyons of Utah, and the mountains of Colorado, trying to discover a new identity like so many other people who have left their roots to fall in love with the freedom of the west. According to No Depression Magazine, “Although she shares a regional home with other Ozark angel, Iris Dement, Shuffield’s decades long stay in the west has tinged her song-writing with themes of coyotes and canyons, as well as lost love and rambling songs.”
Sally tours regionally and nationally, sometimes solo and sometimes with mandolin accompaniment, playing well known concert series, festivals, and house concerts. She has received glowing reviews, a wide base of support, and radio play on over 100 radio stations nationally and overseas. Most recently "Something in the Water" charted nationally on the FAR Charts and the Folk DJ Charts.
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