Shawn Colvin

Singer-songwriter, contemporary folk

Shawn Colvin can most easily be lumped in with her Fast Folk compatriots, like John Gorka, Suzanne Vega, Richard Shindell, Michelle Shocked, and others. Fans of Ani DiFranco and Dar Williams may also appreciate Colvin's narrative, confessional songs.

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"Polaroids" (Live)
"Diamond in the Rough"
"Words"

Shawn Colvin was born in January 1956 in Vermillion, SD. She started playing guitar when she was 10 and began performing at the age of 15. After attending college at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Colvin moved to Austin, Tex., and began pursuing music as her career. After a time in Austin in the 1970s, she headed to New York City, where she became involved with the Fast Folk community in the West Village.

During the Fast Folk years, Colvin developed fruitful and lasting friendships and collaborations with peers like Suzanne Vega and Mary Chapin Carpenter.

Though she'd been touring and performing for two decades at that point, Colvin's first breakthrough record didn't appear until 1996. A Few Small Repairs achieved commercial success due to its chief single, "Sunny Came Home," establishing Colvin as a force within the singer-songwriter world. The disc earned her two Grammy nominations (though she'd also earned one in 1991 for her debut Steady On).

Since Steady On's release in 1989, Colvin has released ten albums in all, including two live recordings. She's been nominated for as many Grammy Awards, and has become one of the most respected and revered singer-songwriters in the contemporary American folk scene.