Shannon Curfman Graduates From Opener To Headliner

Shannon Curfman, the 14-year-old blues-rock guitarist and singer who opened for eight John Mellencamp dates last December, is currently headlining her own tour. The Fargo, N.D., native is bringing her Bonnie Raitt- and Jimi Hendrix-influenced sound to twenty clubs in the West and Southwest through February.

Although she has only been playing guitar for four years--inspired by teen blues-guitarist Jonny Lang, another Fargo native who moved to the Twin Cities for wider exposure--she has toured with Buddy Guy, Jimmy Vaughn and Jeff Healy, impressing audiences with her fretwork on strut, jump and funky blues numbers. Her mature stage presence and vocal dynamics have also earned her acclaim. On her current tour, she will be joined by guitarist/mandolinist Marlon Young, bassist Jim Anton, keyboardist Kevin Murphy and drummer Dave Anania.

The tour is in support of her Arista debut ''Loud Guitars, Big Suspicions," recorded in October 1998 and originally released on Minneapolis' Pop Sense label. Released last September, the album is currently number eight on Billboard's blues chart, where it has been for 15 weeks.

Curfman's album title comes from lyrics in Sheryl Crow's song "Hard to Make a Stand," which the home-schooled, largely self-taught musician covers on the album. The disc's 11 tracks feature the rock radio-charting song "True Friends," a cover of the Band's "The Weight" and seven songs that Curfman co-wrote with Lang, guitarist David Grisson (Mellencamp and Joe Ely) and Twin Cities musicians Kevin Bowe and Bruce McCabe.

"Sometimes she came in with near-complete songs," her manager Jake Walesch told Totally Adult. "Some only needed arrangement help or a new bridge. Other times she came in with lyrical ideas and musical riffs, and it became a collaborative effort to flesh them out. It's not like she was playing Nintendo in the other room while the writers did most of the work."

This spring, she plans to record a second album, due in the fall. She will also tour Japan with Buddy Guy in May.