Shawn Craver is a traditional Appalachian fiddler, singer, and songwriter. He is a recent mainstage performer at the Kansas State Fiddle Championships, a former 1st Place Mid Atlantic Mandolin Champion, and can claim several first place wins for clawhammer banjo at the Maryland State Banjo Championship.
A consummate entertainer and humorous storyteller, Shawn recently served on a panel with New York Times best selling author Maria Davanah Headley. In 2023 Shawn was officially added to the Kansas Arts Commission folk artists roster.
Shawn has appeared on the same concert and festival stages as notable performers like Chris Thile, Irish super-group Altan, and Tim O'Brien. Craver's current band Greenbriar is based in Kansas and focuses on fiddle tunes and folk songs from the pre-bluegrass Appalachian tradition.
Born and raised in the Potomac Highlands of Western Maryland and West Virginia in the 1970s, Shawn learned much of his traditional repertoire from friends and family. When he was a kid he was able to remember the songs and rhymes from the old people around him including his grandmother who taught him his first Appalachian ballad. Family reunions had banjos and fiddles and the music ranged from old time to bluegrass to country.
Shawn became attracted to the region's noncommercial fiddle styles that featured stately melodies and free-wheeling bowing. Shawn spent time with area fiddlers like Woody Simmons, Elmer Rich, J.C. Hollis, Larry Rush, Grover Broadwater, and Homer Beeman to name a few. One of Shawn's first shows was at his great aunt's church high above the Cheat River Canyon in Parsons, West Virginia. "The towns are coal and timber towns with names like Oakland, Kingwood, and Elk Garden," he says. "My family has deep roots there."
Also a crafty songwriter, Shawn's songs range from folk to Beatlesque to post-punk and often surprise audiences at shows. Whether it's traditional folk songs or his originals, Chuck Dicken of Frostburg State University once described Shawn's music as "a perfect example of where the Celtic musical heritage of Western Maryland came from, where it's been, and where its going..."
SELECT PAST PERFORMANCES:
Tiffany Tavern Alexandria Virginia, Lovegrass Wilson Lake, Kansas, National Endowment for the Arts/Humanities, Rocky Gap State Park Cumberland, Maryland, Yosemite National Park, California, Coolfont Concert Series Berkeley Springs West Virginia, Renfrew Museum Waynesboro Pennsylvania, Windrush Gallery Friendsville, Maryland, Newman University Wichita Kansas, North Texas Irish Festival Dallas Texas, Sioux River Folk Festival Canton South Dakota, Mankato State University Mankota Minnesota, KS State Fiddling & Picking Championships Lawrence Kansas,The Friendly Inn Ellicott City Maryland, Owl and Monkey San Francisco California,Cross Ranch Bluegrass Festival Cross Ranch North Dakota,Winfield Art in the Park Winfield Kansas, Garrett College McHenry Maryland, Pipestone Performing Arts Pipestone MN, Society For the Preservation of Bluegrass Music, Downtown Concert Series Helena Montana, Minnesota Bluegrass and Old Time Association Winter Weekend, Minneapolis MN, Classic Bean Topeka, Kansas, Dulono's Pizza Minneapolis, The Orpheum Wichita Kansas,Pearl Street Mall Boulder Colorado, Cumberland Maryland Celtic Festival,Spencer Iowa Bluegrass Festival, Riverfest Wichita Kansas,Mt. Grove Bluegrass Festival Mt. Grove West Virginia,The Songwriter Showcase Branson Missouri, Maxwells Morgantown West Virginia,Cumberland Rail Festival Cumberland Maryland,Big Island Rendezevous Albert Lea Minnesota,Chisholm Trail Festival Abilene Kansas,Chatauqua Bismarck North Dakota,Chapel Hill Concert Series Wichita Kansas,Highland Festival McHenry Maryland,College Hill Concerts Wichita Kansas,Old Courthouse Concert Series Sioux Falls South Dakota, Owl and Monkey San Francisco California, Courtyard Santa Fe New Mexico, Cumberland Rail Festival Cumberland Maryland, Helena Montana Concert Series, Dulono's Pizza Minneapolis Minnesota and more...