Howdy Shannon McNally

Photo by Alysse Gafkjen

Hey Shannon, so, tell me, where are you right now? And what are you up to today?

Well hello. I am in Nashville, Tennessee. I’m finally sitting at my desk for correspondence and writing.

I normally do a mini intro piece in interviews, but if you were introducing yourself in a paragraph what would you say?

If I was to introduce myself I suppose I’d say something like, “hello, my name is Shannon McNally. I am an artist, a mom, a musician and jack of all trades, master of none.”

It’s been four years since Black Irish, what have you been up to?

Since Black Irish was released in 2017 I have moved to Nashville from the North of Mississippi where I lived for some twelve years post-Hurricane Katrina. I don’t know how long I’ll stay here or where I’m bound. While I’ve been in Nashville however, I have enjoyed it. The highlights have been some good work with Steve Earle on the road in 2018 and making a magnificent album with Terry Allen and The Panhandle Mystery Band called Just Like Moby Dick which was released on the Paradise of Bachelors label in early 2020. I’m extremely proud of said album!

Your new album is The Waylon Sessions, what can you tell me about it?

What can I tell you about The Waylon Sessions? Well, it was inspired in a flash of lightning over the course of a lifetime. I am sensitive to geography. Coming to the Mecca of country music definitely opened up a vein in me that needed exploring. In that regard, I felt it important to ‘go big or go home’ and when that window opened in stepped those songs and that energy. Waylon in many ways is synonymous with Billy Joe Shaver. They come from a time and a place, a state of mind. Billy Joe Shaver quite famously wrote all the songs on Waylon’s Honky Tonk Heros album. ‘Black Rose’ is one from that album. I have always loved it’s boogie, the shame and the redemption, how he hides behind the devil initially and then takes responsibility.
“The devil made me do it the first time, the second time I did it on my own”. It’s a perfect song and plays of our higher and lower instincts like a true bible thumper.

Were there any of Waylon’s songs that you’d really liked to have included on the album but just didn’t work for whatever reason?

There were a few songs that I would have wanted to sing but didn’t for one reason or another. I cut a version of ‘Lonesome, Ornery And Mean’ a long time ago on an album called Coldwater. If I’d had a crystal ball back then and could have seen the band I’d eventually make this album with, I might have held off cutting it so I could have put it on here. Of course, I’m glad I cut it back then because It was in my heart and I had a groovy little band called Hot Sauce who did it proud, so no regrets. We cut ‘Pretend I Never Happened’ and ‘Why Do I Have To Choose’ but neither had the magic that the others had and would have needed more time and work than I could have given them at that moment. I also considered ‘The Wurlitzer Prize’ which is one fo the loveliest songs ever, but wanted to avoid the Norah Jones comparisons.

What is it about Waylon that makes him so enduring as an artist?

Waylon’s mystique endures because he represents to many people an undeniable sense of the self-defined Alpha-male; self possession. He also invokes the energies of West Texas which was a truly mixed bag of people and philosophies. He manages to invoke so many voices from opposite sides that he is a kind of walking truce and treaty and leaves you feeling that justice may prevail, though it may come from the hands of bandits. He’s Robin Hood in a sense.

You’ve got an amazing band playing with you on the album, how did you pull that gang together?

Going in to make the album, my first thought was that I had to get the guitars right and I wanted someone who’s country music pedigree was undeniable. Kenny Vaughan came right to mind. From there I basically asked him for his suggestions. Players on the floor in the studio make a million micro decisions that add up to the feel and tone of the music. I wanted authenticity mostly. This band is my new gold standard for country bands, all muscle and grace.

What can we expect from you for the rest of 2021?

I don’t know what 2021 has in store for me. A lot of that has to do with how the music economy pulls out of the pandemic and how the record is received. My hope is that I can support lots of live shows with a band. I just had the pleasure of doing one at my friend Ramsey Midwood’s joint south of Austin called Sam’s Town Point. It’s the last of the great neighborhood honky tonks. I recommend you check it out if ever you’re in Austin and I also recommend his music, it’s brilliant.

What’s the question we should have asked you today but haven’t?

I can’t think of any questions beyond “what do you have in mind for the next album?” The answer to that is I want it to reflect all the music I’ve ever done and yet sound like none of it.

Finally, how do you take your coffee?

I take my coffee quite strong with honey and almond milk (I’ve had to give up cow’s milk so she can nurse her own babies) and sugar makes me crazy.

To find out more about Shannon you can visit her official website, or check her out on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.