We recently connected with Shannon Sionna and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Shannon, thanks for joining us today. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?

One thing I believe my parents did right was let me live my life. Having full control over my own future gave me the freedom to decide what I wanted life to look like for myself. They never pressured me to take a specific path, and only shared their passions in music and culture out of spreading knowledge and education, not so that I could necessarily follow in their footsteps. I am blessed and grateful to have both parents full support towards my craft, and am honored that they love my music so much it wouldn’t matter if I was their child ore not.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas. I am 29 years old and although I have been singing for my entire life, I have been professionally entertaining since 2017. My classified genre is “Pop Soul”, some examples of this sound include Ariana Grande and Victoria Monét. I write all of my own music, and my latest EP ‘Vienna’ was arranged and recorded with a 6 piece live band. I take great pride in providing quality sound and performance to all of my live shows, and consider myself the “Anita Baker” of my time. My primary musical inspirations are Whitney Houston, Selena y Los Dinos, Luther Vandross and Anita Baker.

Both of my parents are very passionate about music, my father with singing, and my mother with dancing. Between both parents I got a very balanced education between all genres from classical to 50’s doo wop to 90’s R&B. My personal favorite genre of music is Jazz, specifically smooth Jazz. Due to my upbringing, music consistently filled our home. It was only natural for my own musical abilities to take suit. I decided at a very young age, in 2006 to be exact that I wanted to win the EGOT. I wanted to be a star. I saw Tyler Perrys’ Stage play of ‘Madea’s class Reunion’ and knew that’s where I wanted to be one day. Since I never had true proper training in anything other than singing (I was vocally trained professionally in classical, musical theatre, and chorale genres.) I knew that my voice would be my Golden Ticket to stardom.

Over the years, although my goals have stayed in tack, my passions have slightly pivoted. A huge part of my music brand today focuses on Environmental and Animal Activism and Conservation. I combine my efforts by making sure all of my merchandise comes from sustainable materials, all of my clothes are made from recycled cotton, we package everything in recycled paper materials and I consistently encourage and educate my followers and audience members about the current stage of climate change across all of my social media platforms. This Earth and these Animals mean so much to me, if I am gonna have a platform that people look at, I want to make sure I am promoting and being actively vocal about things that are truly important. I believe that is one of the major personality traits that sets me apart from my fellow artists.

I am most proud of how far I have come as an independent artist. That term “independent artist” isn’t taken seriously enough in my opinion. Those not in this craft don’t truly understand the amount of time, effort and out of pocket money it takes to keep our brands rolling. Most of the time artists are not only writing their own music, they are their own management, booking agent, band manager (if applicable), assistant, marketing team, editing team, and calendar organizer. Every single song, and music video takes at least $500-2,000 to make. All of that money is coming out of the individuals pocket unless they have sponsorships or community support. I am proud to say that I have educated myself enough to make Shannon Sionna a sole proprietor in the state of Texas, am building a staff that I will eventually have on payroll, have a dedicated band who loves me just as much as I love them and are dedicated to me as a person as well as an artist, and have built such a unique and genuine relationship with my community and audience members that I have never ending support from my hometown city, which is such a blessing within itself.

One thing I want everyone to know, whether they’ve known about me or are just hearing about me for the first time is this –
Always have your own back, no one is gonna look out for you like you
Stay ready so you don’t have to get ready
No one thinks about you as much as you do, be easy on yourself
As long as you love what you do, everything else will work out when it’s supposed to.
I am here to give support and to receive it, to share a safe space where music can take us to a different place, a peaceful place. A joyful place. I pray you look at me and feel joy, feel hopeful for what’s to come because baby thank the Lord we made it from where we’re coming from.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

Total control can equal total damage. I used to be the type of artist who felt the need to be in control of everything. Nothing could be said or done without my okay, and that would usually lead to me omitting any outside opinion. Although an artistic journey is most times a solo one, one cannot succeed without the support of some type of community whether that be friends, family, or corporate. When my manager died, it was really a wake up call that I couldn’t control it all. I couldn’t bring him back. I realized at that time how much tension I had built up inside of myself trying to perfect everything on the outside.

Today, I go with the eb and flow. I know that although it may be dark right now, it will be light again. I am currently still trying to maintain presence in my craft when creating, and not worrying about how perfect it sounds or being on a social media timeline. My art resides in me, it is a part of who I am. No amount of time or control will change that fact.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

Since developing Shannon Sionna as a Sole Proprietor in the State of Texas, hiring staff and releasing consistent merchandise, my most recent fixation is this interview with Jackie Aina, who is an OG African Makeup artist turned entrepreneur. She touches on very valid and unique aspects of what will make your small business not only stand out, but last. Here is the interview – https://youtu.be/rfjKto3lzSs?si=01oCqdk_85wyNCFT

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.shannonsionna.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shannonsionna/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shannonsionnaa
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/@shannonsionna
• Other: https://linktr.ee/shannonsionna

Image Credits
@the_quantum_lotus