Joe Shea
Joe Shea is a multi-instrumental singer-songwriter and performer based in Prince George, BC. As co-founder and co-leader of both Trundled (www.trundledmusic.com) and The Ebbs (www.theebbs.ca) Joe writes and performs original music for a wide range of audiences and venues across B.C. and Alberta. With a powerful, clear voice and influences that range from folk to Americana to Radiohead and beyond, his solo performances are powerful experiences.
Longer Bio
Born and raised in southern Ontario by a church organist and a 1950’s vinyl afficionado, Joe Shea has a broad range of musical tastes and influences. His first solo EP, recorded on a digital 8-track while he completed a Master’s degree at the University of Calgary, was released in 2003. After completing a PhD in 2010 and taking an overseas position, Joe returned to music as frontman for The Mixtapes cover band in Kathmandu, Nepal (2013 – 2016).
In 2017, Joe returned to songwriting and performing with the talented and lovely Ellen Braun (www.ellenbraunmusic.com). Together as the duo Trundled (www.trundledmusic.com), the two released their eponymous EP in 2017 and have played concert halls, bars, stages, caves, mountain tops, and stairwells in Alberta, British Columbia, and Ontario. The duo’s full length album “High Water” was recorded and produced by Dan Ledwell (Jenn Grant, Fortunate Ones) at Echo Lake, Nova Scotia. The album was released during the pandemic, and nominated for a Calgary Music Award in 2021. Singles from the album performed well across streaming and digital platforms, with over 40,000 views for the “Haunted Stampede” video, and over 29,000 Spotify streams for “Rules”.
After moving to Prince George in 2018, Joe formed the indie-folk-stomp band The Ebbs with William Kuklis. The group added fiddler Finn Scott-Neff in 2019, and upright bassist Dave Schulte in 2022 for an energetic and dynamic sound. The group released their first full-length album “Volume One” in 2021, have been invited to music festivals and events across northern BC (Coldsnap, Midsummer Festival, Music On The Mountain, Peace Valley Folk Fest), and appeared on Telus Optik TV in Fall 2023 as part of the Then/Now series recorded in Prince George.
Joe’s songwriting blurs genres and is influenced by folk, Americana, Irish,and wide range of independent musical styles. With a powerful and clear voice, he wraps his honesty and vulnerability around a framework of melody and song structures built with guitars and piano. As a solo artist, he captivates and moves his audiences.