A Song About This - Single Release, November 2020
Premiere by Glide Magazine, November 23, 2020
Proceeds from Bandcamp and streaming go to the NAACP Chapter of Eugene/Springfield, Oregon.
This is a “Black Lives Matter” song. But it points no fingers, names no adversaries, and confronts no one directly but the artist himself. It is more personal and vulnerable than combative, even as it vividly describes physical (violent) strife on the ground.
Over three decades, John has eased through multiple Americana genres with ruthless empathy and literate flair, garnering international acclaim and charting airplay. But he could count his socio-political songs on one hand. Songwriter-as-Activist was never a comfortable role for Shipe. “But recently,” he says, “I’m pushed to see things in ways I never have before… to take a stand and articulate unpleasant truths I have suspected for a long time. In this song, I’m inviting others like me to do the same.”
BUY THE SONG: BANDCAMP (proceeds go to NAACP, Eugene/Springfield, Oregon)
The Beast Is Back - Album Release, October 2020
Premiere by Imperfect Fifth, Meredith Schneider, September 28, 2020
“John’s struggle to be as vulnerable as possible really makes each one of these masterpiece songs that much more heart-wrenching.”
BUY THE ALBUM: SPOTIFY | APPLE MUSIC | BANDCAMP
Love Ain’t Easy - Single Release, July 2020
Reviewed by Global Texan Chronicles, Walter Price, July 22, 2020
A love song for grown-ups.
Life is a highway, the twisty journey with indelible stops along the way. And a relationship can be the hardest passenger to maintain, especially if self-induced demons are trying their damnedest to destroy that connection. Oregon singer-songwriter John Shipe returns with a beautifully honest song that’s as much of a Thank You as it is a road to redemption story.
BUY: SPOTIFY | APPLE MUSIC | AMAZON | BANDCAMP
Thoughts and Prayers – Single Release, August 2020
Reviewed by Rawckus Magazine, Randy Radic, August 6, 2020
Portland-based Americana singer-songwriter John Shipe introduces “Thoughts And Prayers,” a track from his forthcoming double album, entitled The Beast Is Back, slated to drop September 25 via Involushun.
Talking about the album, John says, “This is the album of my life. I may not make another one because I may not have anything left in me. My experience in recovery—both as an alcoholic and an artist—brought me to places of brutal honesty, and it has been exhausting.”
BUY: SPOTIFY | APPLE MUSIC | AMAZON | BANDCAMP
Song About Singing – Single Release, September 2020
“In tune with the age…swells up the chest, and threatens to escape in a blood curdling scream…”
– Dori & Doug Donoho, KECH & Star 107.5
John Shipe music catalog
SPOTIFY | APPLE MUSIC | AMAZON | BANDCAMP