BIO
Jack Shields writes songs for people who think too much, drink too much, and still believe in a good chorus.
Based in Los Angeles, Shields makes indie rock that drags one boot through alt-country and one boot through 90s fuzz — stubborn, scrappy, and dead-set on finding beauty in the wreckage. His debut album, Cherry Pick the Past, is out July 11 Via Many Hats Endevours.
Cherry Pick the Past is a sprawling and ambitious debut. The record is built like a four-disc box set — Four different takes on indie rock stitched together by blown-out pedal steel, detuned and overdriven guitars, and a ragged, deliberate production style.
Each "disc" consists of 5 songs pulled from different springs.
1. Twisted alt-country fables and character songs about kidnapping, murder, and aging out of your own dreams
2. Crazy Horse-esque folk rock confessionals about dissociative disorder, long-distance relationships, and losing the spark
3. Grungy anthems about social media rot, hypochondria, and burnout
4. Sun-faded Reflections on adolescence, nostalgia, and the beauty in the mundane.
It's a survival document more than a debut — a scrapbook of bad decisions, self-acceptance, and learning to let go in order to move forward.
Born in Stamford, Shields spent the majority of his childhood imbibing a steady diet of John Prine, Hendrix, and Pavement, before heading west at the age of 18. After working at a ski resort during COVID, and subsequently as a roadie in LA, Shields found himself in Nashville where he teamed up with Grammy Award-winning musician and producer Sadler Vaden (Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit). Their collaboration produced "Sister," a melancholy single that hinted at a broader, more ambitious project.
He is a member of Richy Mich and the Coal Miners and will be joining the viral folk rockers for their 2025 world tour.
PHOTOS
Press
“With a bad mustache and an eye for the eccentric, California songwriter Jack Shields cold-cocks and kidnaps a country music legend in this deranged bluegrass romp. The accompanying video is just as outrageous, as Shields indulges in a Misery-like fantasy to get Ol’ Willie to listen to his songs. His method? A baseball bat across the leg. “I never knew an old man’s femur would be my lucky break,” he sings, a line destined for the Play on Words Hall of Fame. Such cleverness is what keeps “I Kidnapped Willie Nelson” from descending into novelty, and the twist ending only reinforces that Shields isn’t afraid of sacrificing a sacred cow.”
- Jospeh Hudak, Rolling Stone
Jack Shields is a living testament to the possibilities that can still be explored when it seems like every idea has long been run into the ground. He seamlessly melds the old and the new, the East and the West and the roots and the radio together for an eclectic, tremendous mix of sound, light, and life. Efforts- and artists- like this deserve to be far more than unsung and underground, and with the help of the Internet and a willing collection of good ears for talent, the reality of far greater exposure may just, and should, come true.
- Tinker Talavera, Muzique Magazine
CONTACT
For all inquiries, email:
jack.shields11@gmail.com