North American Ghost Music

Written by - Altjiranga Mitjina

Classic Rock. Rap. Alternative Rock. Hip Hop. Emo. Punk. Gothic. Heavy Metal. Rock and Roll. Americana. There are as many different names for the music as there are listeners. For an artist today trying to figure out where they fit into the musical scene has to be a daunting task. Should they try to be more punk. Or perhaps throw some emo into their sound, that seems to be the hot new thing.

Or perhaps they could not worry about where they fit into the scheme of things and just try to put out some great music. Which is what Shannon McNally has decided to do. Put out some great music and let the fans decide what they want to call her music. She calls it North American Ghost Music. Which is as good a description as anything I can think of.

Shannon is from my home town of New Orleans by way of New York. Her influences are such groups like the Band, Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young and the writer John Steinbeck. She graduated college with a degree in Social Anthropology. Supporting herself as a model she decided to turn what was a hobby of making music into her passion. Her debut album Jukebox Sparrows came out in 2002.

Her music is a wonderful gumbo of soul, Americana, New Orleans Funk and whatever else she can throw into the mix with a voice that gives goose bumps to listeners. Her songs tells stories of rebels and visionaries, such as Geronimo on the song from the album with the same title.

Her live shows are as good if not better than the source material. She puts on an amazing show, telling stories of her life intermixed with the songs that she brings to life on the stage.

Since her first album she’s released Geronimo, South Side Sessions and a live album called North American Ghost Music. Each album just gets better than the previous. Her newest should be out anytime, on it she teamed with legendary Memphis producer Jim Dickeson.