She can’t be put in a box.  She’s the black Rickie Lee Jones.  Other times, maybe she’s the female Lenny Kravitz.  She’s an African American woman who rocks.  She’s a singer-songwriter who can plug a hole in a soulful folk tune with a bit of rap.  She’s a guitarist, which means in this day and age she stands out.  So, respect the lady, the artist -- Shea Rose is a musician. “I’m a storyteller,” she says.  

Like any good one, she’s on a journey.  Born in Boston, Shea’s grandfather played jazz organ at the famous Hi-Hat, the South End’s first jazz club.  With her loungy-retro sound of “Devilish” (which calls out for use in a soundtrack), we’re taken back to a time when Miles Davis or Sammy Davis, Jr. were setting the standard for cool in Boston and nationwide. 

But at age twelve, Shea’s parents moved the family out to the burbs.   “Being one of the only black families in Braintree was extremely difficult as a kid, but it influenced my music.  If I had stayed in Boston, I may have never been listened to Bon Jovi or Guns N’ Roses.”  That’s clear in the pounding intro to Shea’s “Free Love.”  The whole song is a refreshing synthesis of rock, funk and R&B, not unlike Nikka Costa.

Determined to break into the business, Shea decided to relocate to Manhattan.  While in New York, she responded to an ad and was offered lead singer for a girl group, Mercy.  After a short stint with the group, she decided to instead return to Boston, and work on her musical chops as a solo artist.  First fronting for “a gang of old hippie white guys”, The Ripchordz, she later moved onto land a gig with the R&B band Luv Jones.  “That’s when I learned how to capture an audience,” Shea says.

After a year of non-stop performing, Shea moved to Jamaica with her boyfriend from the band, Nathan Sabanayagam.  Her evolution continued with a heavy course in reggae in its homeland, and learning how to play guitar.  Shea the storyteller revealed herself in a more folk-acoustic fashion, such as “Light Fades” & “Lovin’ You.”

Returning again to Boston, she answered an ad on Craigslist, and was chosen as one of six writer-musicians to tour the country on a bus for MSN Music.  While using her skills as a reporter, she wrote online articles for bands and concerts.  Those close quarters with her busmates, representing different genres of American music, exposed to her even greater range of traditions -- and how the music industry works.

After three months, the tour was over and Shea realized how little experience she really had with music.  Getting serious, she took Berklee College of Music up on a $10,000 World Tour Scholarship and enrolled in the spring of 2007.  “I never realized how vast and theoretical music really is,” she says of her education. Plus, she took advantage of a grant to study for a semester at the Nakas Conservatory in Greece.  While there, she quickly got exposure as an R&B performer, and was performing in clubs in Athens.  “I came back from Europe with such a fire,” she says

Since returning from Europe, Shea hit Berklee’s main stage (Berklee Performance Center - BPC) as the opener for the historic “Women in Rock” concert – a tribute to African American Women in Rock Music featuring Nona Hendryx, Joyce Kennedy and Cindy Blackman.  She made a return trip to Europe    (Naples, Italy) to collaborate with Cindy Blackman on a six song EP and she was called to open the 2009 New England Urban Music Awards.

Currently Shea is in the studio working on her new material.  Her songs “Free Love” and “Light Fades” are featured on Berklee’s Heavy Rotation Records, Dorm Session 6 CD, a compilation featuring some of Berklee’s most outstanding talent.  Meanwhile, she’s still working on her guitar playing.  And polishing her songwriting craft is also paying off – she was currently featured as the Spotlight Artist of the Month on producer, Dallas Austin’s website – Rowdy TV. 

With a powerful voice and electric presence, Shea Rose could do just fine as a simple performer in contemporary American music.  But there’s a depth and breadth to this artist -- ever-expanding -- that takes any audience further.  The best musicians are on a journey, and every new listener is glad to join Shea Rose on hers.