Shannon Lyon grew up on a gravel road in small town Ontario, Canada. He started listening to his parents record collection at a very early age. “I remember being swept up in songs almost immediately, we always had a bunch of records in the house like Frankie Valli, Elvis Presly and Stompin Tom Connors. Also I remember driving in the car with my mother and listening to the radio, the both of us singing The Carpenters song ‘Top Of The World’ at the top of our lungs.” Lyon bought his first guitar at the age of 17. “My mom sent me to bible camp when I was about 14. Mostly I remember being excited about spending time in nature with all the pretty girls from my sunday school class. One of the camp counselleors; I think his name was Dwight, he had a guitar and he showed me a few chords one afternoon. I remember the excitement of that moment, when music started to become a langauge that I could speak. For the rest of the week I wandered around the camp singing ‘Bee Bop a Lula’. I think that was the first time I discovered I could bend my vocal and that I really wanted to learn the guitar and be a real story-teller.” Lyon recorded and released a series of albums in the 90′s but it wasn’t until he moved to Europe in 2001 that he discovered his voice and deeper centre; “I have a real hard time saying no to new and exciting experiences, so when I was offered to tour in Holland for 4 weeks back in 2001 I decided to purchase a one way ticket and I ended up staying for 2 years.” “I would wake up early and start my day. Biking and taking photographs, sitting in cafes and writing in my journal. It was a very romantic time in my life and a whole new type of song started resonating inside of me. It was very physical experience.” ‘Wandered’, Lyon’s first collection of newly penned songs in Europe was recorded in 2001 on Leons Farm Studio; a 17th century farm in the south of Holland. Produced by Dutch songwriter, BJ Baartmans, ‘Wandered’ quickly found it’s way onto Americana charts throughout Europe and Australia and eventually attracted the attention of V2 Records for a North American release as Lyon became the first Canadian artist to sign to V2 Records, joining the likes of The White Stripes and Moby on V2′s roster. Wandered was released on Inbetweens in Europe and Collision in Australia. More touring ensued between 2001 and 2005 including Lyon’s first tour of Australia, where his honest, straightforward approach instantly connected with audiences. “Personally I was excited about the idea of purchasing a combi van and living out on the beaches. It was my first try at surfing as well.” In 2003, Lyon helped start Canadian roots label ‘Busted Flat Records’ and their first two releases were live recordings from Lyons various European tours. The first release, ‘Bound’, was Recorded in The Netherlands at Lexor Theatre. It’s an intimate collection of roots and country ballads revealing Lyons keen sense of subtle sorrow and solitude. The second collection, ‘Someday Mourning’, was recorded in former East-Germany and is a hauntingly stark collection of fresh material that would eventually be released on his 2006 studio recording ‘Safe Inside’. Lyon has released 10 studio albums to date, toured Australia, North America and Europe and has shared the the stage with Lucinda Williams, Bruce Cockburn and Jay Farrar to name a few. He’s lived in Holland, Germany and Spain. Lyon’s latest CD ‘Broken Things’ (Busted Flat/2012) was written and recorded in Holland.