GhostWatch

Hey friends, I’m a little late posting this on my website (do people even look at websites anymore? Comment with “yes bud” if you do), but I released some new music last month. GhostWatch is the soundtrack to a horror movie that doesn’t exist. A collection of sounds and melodies to unnerve and inform. Made primarily using music boxes, cassette players and a home made noise box. It also features two new songs, which will eventually be part of my next full length studio album! I was hoping to make that this year, but couldn’t work up the funds. You can help though! If you go to the link below and purchase a cassette, or buy the digital album (or any album for that matter!) it would go towards releasing my next great opus!

Keep an eye out for another small release in the next few weeks, I think you’ll find this one very…. festive? Thanks so much for listening, and being a part of my musical journey, it really means a lot.

GhostWatch by Shawn William Clarke

Autumn is the best season!

Hello friends, it’s been a while since I last updated, I’ve been slowly writing new music, and these new songs are influenced by horror movies! It won’t be out this October (I may release a little something as a taste, keep checking in here!), but I’d love to share these songs with you at a few upcoming Ontario shows!

Oct 6: Toronto, Wenona Lodge (experimental performance, no songs! Should be fun!)

Oct 17: Orillia, Paper Planes, with Ian McDonnell
The hometown show!  Tickets

Oct 23: Toronto, Cameron House, opening for David Allen James
Get your tickets right here

Oct 27: Peterborough, Sadleir House, with my very good friend David Newberry!
Ticket Link

Nov 1: Ottawa, Irene's Pub, as part of the Sunday night revue!

Shows and a very cool German book of photography!

Hello my friends, I hope your summer has been hunky dory.  I've working, camping and mostly trying to stay out of the crazy heat.  I have a couple Ontario shows coming up in the next few months and I wanted to run them by you here! 

Friday August 22nd - Stratford - Bunker Performance Lounge 
Jerry Leger and I had such a great time performing together a few months back, that we decided to do it again!  The Bunker is a really wonderful place in Stratford, and I'm happy to be heading back! 

Thurs Sept 25th - Toronto - Blue Bird Cafe
I'll be playing two whole sets of originals and covers at the Bluebird Cafe on Dundas west in Toronto.  Have a favourite SWC song? Let me know what it is, and play it for you!  With special guest Erik Bleich joining me on guitar.  

Wed Nov 5th - Toronto - The Burdock 
Thurs Nov 6th - Montreal - Casa Del Popolo 
My good friend Alexis Marsh (of the awesome band Dyan), is back in Canada this November and I'll be joining her for two fantastic shows!  This is a rare chance to see her perform, so you don't want to miss it 

And now for something a little different!  A German friend of mine just released a book of his black & white photos and they're stunning! For the project, he asked a bunch of musicians to pick one photo then write / record a song to go along with it.  I picked the photo above, taken at Banff National Park.  

This link will download all 30 songs recorded for the project (there are some really great tunes here).

And here's my tune "Banff National Park in Black and White" 

I have 4 copies of the book to sell here in Canada, so they are very limited!  If you want one, let me know, and I'll have them at my upcoming shows.

Chat soon, baboons

April 4th, a special show with The Young Novelists

Just wanted to pop in here and mention a great show coming up in Toronto, at The Burdock, April 4th! I’m honored to be joining the Young Novelists as they celebrate the 10th anniversary of their album Made Us Strangers.

They’re putting together the old band, and I don’t think they’ve done the full band thing in years, so you know it’s going to be special! I’ll have a few of the novelists joining me onstage as well.

So get your tickets here, cause they’re going fast!

First Shows of 2025!

Happy new year my friends, I hope you’re easing into 2025, I can say that I am doing my best. Work is a little slow these days, but that gives me lots of time to plan my year. So far, Feb - April is looks great for gigs, with good friends Jerry Leger, Svavar Knútur (all the way from Iceland) & The Young Novelists! Here’s the skinny, with ticket links where available:

Sat Feb 1st, 9pm
Cameron House Back Room, Toronto
with Julie Title & Jerry Leger
GET TICKETS!

Fri Feb 28th, 7pm
Bunker Performance Lounge & Cafe in Stratford
with Svavar Knútur

Sat March 1st, 1pm (EARLY SHOW)
Portside Art Institute in Port Stanley
with Svavar Knútur
GET TICKETS!

Sat march 1st, 7pm
Good Days Cafe in Ridgetown
with Svavar Knùtur 7pm
GET TICKETS!

Sat March 22nd
Old Church Theatre in Trenton
with Jerry Leger

Fri Apr 4th
the Burdock in Toronto
Opening for The Young Novelists

New EP FINALLY out on all Streaming Sites!

A few months back I went into Lynx Studio to make a little tribute to my 2014 LP ‘William”. With a full band, we re-recorded 4 songs from that album (technically 7… more on that later!), plus one tune from my latest, Softer Scissors. That EP is called “Ten Years Ago: A Companion”, and it was supposed to come out on November 29th… and it did, just not everywhere. For some unknown reason, Spotify & Tidal didn’t release it.

Well, today I looked and lo and behold, they’ve finally put it out! You can now stream this lovely EP everywhere. If you’d like to help support the band, you can even purchase the digital copy right here at my bandcamp page!

We made two videos for this release, and you can watch them again below. The first is My Key Light (Quiet Company). Featuring vocalist Laura Spink, this is slowly becoming one of my favourite songs. So much so I recorded it twice! The 2nd is a Medley of 4 tunes from the William album! This was a fun little writing experiment, I’d never put together a medley before, and I think it turned out pretty great!

Ten Years of "William": A Celebration!

We’re celebrating the 10 years anniversary of my album “William”, a show, an EP release & a video!

Remember 2014??  Malala Yousafzai won the nobel prize, we doused ourselves in ice water & we lost Philip Seymor Hoffman, Robin Williams, Paco De Lucia and former Canadian Minister of Finance Jim Flaherty. On November 29th of 2014, I had the official "William" release party at Array Space with my good friend The Young Novelists opening.  This wasn't my first album, but it was the first time I released something that felt professional, something I could be really proud of. A lot of that had to do with the help of producer James Bunton.  I loved his work with artists like Evening Hymns, Ohbijou & Donovan Woods, and I was lucky enough to enlist his help on this album.

We're celebrating this monumental release in a 3 ways, and I'd love you to join us!  

1. An intimate show!

This Saturday Nov 16th, I'll be performing most of "William" at Sellers & Newel Bookstore in Toronto.  On the bill is my good friend Graham Nicholas who is also celebrating the 10 year anniversary of an LP!  We will both be joined by the guitar-man extraordinaire, Mike T. Kerr .  And as a nod to the original release show, Laura Spink from the Young Novelists will be singing along with me. 
 

To book your spot, simply email  sellers@sellersandnewel.com or phone  647-778-6345. Let them know how many seats you want and they'll let you know what to do next. It's that simple!

2. A Live in-Studio EP!

Recently I went into Lynx studio with some friends and recorded a few tunes from William (plus one from Softer Scissors).  On Friday November 29th I'll be releasing the 5 song EP where ever you stream good music.  YOU CAN HELP by following me on your favourite streaming site (here are some choices!)

3. Videos!

Here’s the first song from that EP, in video form! It's a medley of some of the "hits".  Featuring The Young Novelists (Laura Spink & Graydon James), Erik Bleich & Kristian Noel Pedersen.  Filmed by Jesse Yules & Cody Walker, edited by Jesse Yules. Audio recorded and edited by KNP.
More videos will follow, so follow my Youtube channel:  https://www.youtube.com/@shawnclarkemusic

My Key Light (Quiet Company) - live video

I recently went into Lynx rehearsal studio to record a few videos with some great friends. Most of those videos will debut in November, but here’s a little taste! This is a version of “My Key Light (Quiet Company), off of my latest album Softer Scissors

Let me know what you think!

My Key Light (Quiet Company)
Cameras: Jesse Yules, Cody Walker
Video Editing: Jesse Yules
Audio recording & Mixing: Kristian Noel Pedersen
Live Band: SWC - Guitar / vocals, Erik Bleich - Bass, Graydon James - Drums, Kristian Noel Pedersen - Wurlitzer, Laura Spink - vocals

---

Hey friends! I’ll be showcasing at the Folk Music Ontario conference this weekend in Mississauga, and if you’re going you should come out! Here’s my Showcase schedule:

International Indigenous Music Summit Spotlight Showcase:
Tonight, 12:05am, Grand Ballroom

Official Showcase
Fri Oct 4, 10:20pm, Grand ballroom 

UPDATE: Showcases were fantastic, and I had a wonderful time at the conference. I met so many great artists and folks from festivals etc. I had my good friend Laura Spink (who’s singing in the video above), sing and play glockenspiel with me! Very fun. Very neat.

Videos Videos Videos!

Going to the Country (Bruce Cockburn Cover)

I just had the chance to see one of my favourite guitarist, Bruce Cockburn. This is one of the few tunes of his that I can play, so I sat down with my guitar, and special guest Tony Broccolini.

Live at Burdock, Softer Scissors Release Show

Franny Stares - From the recently released album Softer Scissors

Autumn In New Brunswick - from the 2017 album TOPAZ

New Normal - from the recently released Softer Scissors

Live Performance in The Church of Marc!

Me and a few friends popped into a studio to record this 4 song set, live for The Church of Marc youtube channel! Featuring Guitarist Mike T. Kerr, keyboardist Kristian Noel Pedersen, and bass player Michael McDonnell! Let me know what you think in the comments, and check out more videos on Marc Meriläinen’s channel.