Irish virtuoso guitarist Shane Hennessy has established himself as one of the leading guitarists on the world stage, known widely for his fingerstyle, flatpicking, and percussive guitar-playing approaches.
His energetic live performances and his cinematically-vivid compositions tie in influences from Bach to Billie Eilish – and everything in between. With a unique style of solo guitar playing that encompasses the range of a whole band – covering drums, bass, rhythm and lead lines – Shane builds a complete sonic world entirely on his own, drawing comparisons to virtuosos Chris Thile and Tommy Emmanuel.
Shane has sold out a solo concert in the National Concert Hall in Dublin, released four highly-praised albums, Zephyrus (2015), Marrakech (2017), Rain Dance(2020), and Idircheol (2020), has worked with Bill Whelan (composer of Riverdance) and has done extensive international touring across Europe, The United States, and Russia, including performances at MerleFest, Milwaukee Irish Fest, MusikMesse Festival, and many more. Shane has also featured in an Official Showcase at Folk Alliance International, and is endorsed by both Maton Guitars (Melbourne, Australia) and McNally Guitars (Co. Armagh, Northern Ireland).
‘Rain Dance’, Shane’s third studio album, was released on April 21st 2020 on a livestream concert supported by Culture Ireland for their #IrelandPerforms initiative. Shane’s ‘Idircheol’ project, which focused on mixing his solo guitar approach with his Irish traditional music background, was made possible with support from the Arts Council of Ireland, and was released on December 17th 2020 on a livestream concert.
He made a return to live performance (after the COVID-19 pandemic) in late 2021, and has a busy touring schedule for 2022 on the cards, including appearances at the Walnut Valley Festival (Winfield, KS), Boothbay Opera House (Boothbay, ME), and numerous Irish and Celtic Festivals in Kansas City, MO, Milwaukee, WI, Muskegon, MI, and Syracuse, NY. Shane is currently focusing on writing new vocal material, as well as working on an all-acoustic version of Donald Fagen’s solo album “The Nightfly”.