Shannon Hope

"...as she started to play, I instantly pictured her on a dark stage, lit by a single spotlight in an auditorium filled with thousands of fans..." [Fiona Gordon, Cue, National Arts Festival Review, June 2010.]

Critically-acclaimed Art Pop Pianist and Vocal Artist, Shannon Hope, has been tugging on South African heart strings since the release of her debut solo album in 2009, with her intriguingly powerful heart songs.

In only the first six months of launching her solo career, Shannon Hope had recorded and released her debut solo album entitled STILL, gained play listing on radio stations across the country, and embarked on national promotional tours, performing on some of the country’s premier music platforms with some of its most revered artists including Prime Circle, Dan Patlansky, John Ellis, and Plush. Hope’s extensive musical journey over the past decade has seen her grace the esteemed stages of The Barnyard Theatre, Splashy Fen Festival, Woodstock SA, The White Mountain Folk Festival, Oppikoppi, Music at the Lake, as well as The Metro Theatre in Chicago. Her brief sojourns in America in the early days of her music career earned her the opportunity of recording a five track EP in 2004, with Chicago’s high profile producer, Bjorn Thorsrud (of Smashing Pumpkins & Zwan fame).

“With a sound charged with emotional intensity, Shannon Hope’s performance brought goose bumps to my skin. The powerful combination of her singing and song-writing is sure to leave any audience captured.” [Isabel Rawlins, Cue, National Arts Festival Review, June 2010.]

Having recently secured a full endorsement from world-renowned Japanese piano manufacturer Kawai Pianos, Hope returned to the studio to record the much-anticipated follow-up to her debut album in December 2010. The independent release, due early in 2011, will coincide with a countrywide launch tour, adding to an already intensive touring schedule. With appearances at nearly every major festival around the country, including the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown, The Hilton Arts Festival, Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees and Aardklop Nasionale Kunstefees to name a few, and a furious countrywide touring schedule, she has earned a reputation as one of the hardest-touring, self-managed solo artists on the national circuit, delivering an intensely honest personal commentary in a vocal epic that has mesmerised audiences countrywide.

“Shannon is iemand wat ‘n kamer se dak van sy mure af kan wegsing. Klein botteltjie, groot gif – in die ware sin. Dis iemand wie se musikale omvang ‘n antie soos Tori Amos onder die tafel kan insing, so jy is gewaarsku. Dit is onbestrede: Hope is Aardklop 2010 se nuwe stem van die jaar.” [Angola Badprop, Spat, Beeld, September 2010.]