Forum

Daryl Shawn blends the guitar chops of flamenco and classical with a modern songwriter’s sensibility and the energy of rock. He writes songs both with and without words, and is as comfortable onstage at a punk club as in a recital hall.

Shawn grew up among Amish farms in rural Pennsylvania, studied classical and flamenco guitar in between jazz classes at Berklee College of Music, hitchhiked to San Francisco and formed Maxwell Horse, a trio which was soon opening shows for the likes of Brendan Benson and Rocket from the Crypt. After four releases and a number of successful tours, he split up the band and left the United States for the remote Mexican city of Oaxaca, where he spent five years writing solo instrumental and vocal songs and building his own approach to the acoustic guitar outside the influences of any scene. After leaving Mexico, he spent several years with no fixed address before moving to Brooklyn, NY, and finally Pittsburgh, PA.

Shawn is frequently on the road and has developed a taste for endurance challenges, from undertaking solo tours of up to 45 dates by train and bus to doing a full set in each of New York’s five boroughs in one marathon day of performance.

Currently, Shawn is celebrating the release of his latest album, “In Place”, while continuing to book and play live shows all across North America.