River Shook (born September 15, 1985), known professionally by her birth name Sarah Shook, is an American

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

singer-songwriter from

Chatham County, North Carolina Chatham County ( )
, from the North Carolina Collection's website at the

country-punk and

twang Twang is an onomatopoeia originally used to describe the sound of a vibrating bow string after the arrow is released.Hensleigh Wedgwood, ''A Dictionary of English Etymology: Q - Z'' (1865), p. 433. By extension it applies to the similar vibrati ...

, with shades of outlaw country.

Early life

Shook was born in

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. They were homeschooled and grew up in a

fundamentalist Christian Christian fundamentalism, also known as fundamental Christianity or fundamentalist Christianity, is a religious movement emphasizing biblical literalism. In its modern form, it began in the late 19th and early 20th centuries among British and ...

family where music was restricted; they were permitted only to listen to classical and

worship music Contemporary worship music (CWM), also known as praise and worship music, is a defined genre of Christian music used in contemporary worship. It has developed over the past 60 years and is stylistically similar to pop music. The songs are fr ...

. When Shook was 9 years old they taught themselves

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

, and in high school they taught themselves

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

. The family moved often when Shook was young. In July 2005, when they were 19 years old, they and their family moved to

Garner Garner may refer to: Places United States * Garner, Arkansas * Garner, Iowa * Garner, Missouri * Garner, North Carolina Other uses * Garner (surname), a surname * Granary, a grain store * ''Tennessee v. Garner'', a United States Supreme Court cas ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

Career

In 2010, Shook started their first band, Sarah Shook and the Devil. The band was made up of Shook on vocals and guitar, Jon Baughman on bass, Phil Sullivan on

lap steel The lap steel guitar, also known as a Hawaiian guitar, is a type of steel guitar without pedals that is typically played with the instrument in a horizontal position across the performer's lap. Unlike the usual manner of playing a traditional ac ...

, and Eric Peterson on guitar. The band released a seven-song EP, 2013's ''Seven'' but disbanded later the same year. In 2013, Shook formed the band Sarah Shook and the Dirty Hands, with Devil bandmate Eric Peterson. They played regionally, mostly in North Carolina, for around a year. Shook then started a new band called Sarah Shook & the Disarmers in mid to late 2014. The band started as a recording project, with Eric Peterson on guitar, and John Howie Jr. ( Two Dollar Pistols, John Howie Jr. & the Rosewood Bluff) on drums, Jason Hendrick on bass fiddle, and Phil Sullivan on lap steel. Sarah Shook and the Disarmers released their first full-length album ''Sidelong,'' on October 16, 2015, at the

Cat's Cradle Cat's cradle is a game involving the creation of various string figures between the fingers, either individually or by passing a loop of string back and forth between two or more players. The true origin of the name is debated, though the fi ...

Back Room in Chapel Hill, NC, with a re-release in 2017. ''Sidelong'' was produced by Ian Schreier at Manifold Recording Studios, which is near the

Haw River The Haw River is a tributary of the Cape Fear River, approximately 110 mi (177 km) long, that is entirely contained in north central North Carolina in the United States. It was first documented as the "Hau River" by John Lawson, an E ...

in North Carolina. The record was tracked and recorded live in April 2015. The band found regional and national success with the record. Shook signed with Kathie Russell of RedKats Artist Management, which led to their signing with Chicago's

Bloodshot Records Bloodshot Records is an independent record label based in Chicago, Illinois, which specializes in alternative country. History Bloodshot Records was founded in 1994 by Nan Warshaw, Rob Miller, and Eric Babcock, who knew each other from jobs ...

in January 2017. The records was number 2 on '' Indy Week's'' top 25 best albums of 2015. Sarah Shook and the Disarmers were listed as one of 10 New Country Artists to Know in July 2016. Also in 2016,

BuzzFeed BuzzFeed, Inc. is an American Internet media, news and entertainment company with a focus on digital media. Based in New York City, BuzzFeed was founded in 2006 by Jonah Peretti and John S. Johnson III to focus on tracking viral content. Ken ...

Community listed Shook as one of five women country artists who are impacting music, and the album received positive reviews. In April 2018, Sarah Shook & the Disarmers released their second record, titled ''Years,'' on

. Shook and the band worked on the songs while touring heavily. Shook also focused on learning vocal techniques as a way to control and release their vocals, which led to what many reviews cited as a crisper vocal sound. Music critic

Greg Kot Greg Kot (born March 3, 1957) is an American music journalist and author. From 1990 until 2020, Kot was the rock music critic at the ''Chicago Tribune'', where he covered popular music and reported on music-related social, political and busines ...

compared their vocals to those of

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

vocals, noting that Shook and the band, who have toured together for years, are ferocious. The song "Good as Gold" was chosen as one of '' Rolling Stone's'' 10 best country and Americana songs of the week in March 2018. ''Years'' went on to receive multiple positive reviews. The Disarmers at the time was made up of Eric Peterson on guitar, Aaron Oliva on bass, Jack Foster on drums, and Adam "Ditch" Kurtz on pedal steel. A documentary,
What it Takes: film en douze tableaux
' by director

Gorman Bechard Gorman Bechard (born March 15, 1959) is an American film director, screenwriter and novelist best known for his independent feature films ''Psychos in Love,'' ''Friends (With Benefits), Friends (with benefits),'' and ''You Are Alone''; his four r ...

, premiered at the

Independent Film Festival Boston The Independent Film Festival Boston is a not for profit film festival in Boston, Massachusetts. History The Independent Film Festival Boston (also known as IFFBoston or IFFB) was created in 2003 by the non-profit organization the Independent ...

on 29 April 2018, and was released to DVD on November 9, 2018. The film follows Shook as they wrote and recorded ''Years''. The music blog ''If It's Too Loud'' commented, "Film documentaries are typically put out by a record company as a way to cash in on an artist and are little more than fluff pieces, or they focus on drama within a band. ''What it Takes: film en douze tableaux'' doesn't do any of that. While Bechard is an obvious fan of his subject, he shows them as is, and doesn't try to show them glossed over or hyped up." In December 2018, ''Years'' was included in the best-albums-of-2018 year-end lists of ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

'' (32nd) and ''

Louder Than War ''Louder Than War'' is a music and culture website and magazine focusing on mainly alternative arts news, reviews, and features. The site is an editorially independent publication that was started by journalist John Robb in 2010 and is now ru ...

'' (39th). In November 2021, Shook announced a third album, ''Nightroamer'', which was released on February 18, 2022 via

Thirty Tigers Thirty Tigers is an American entertainment company which offers music marketing, distribution, and management services to independent artists. It is based in Nashville. History The company was founded in 2002 by David Macias and Deb Markland ...

(following the sale of Bloodshot Records, which had caused the album to be delayed). In addition to returning members Peterson, Oliva and original pedal steel player Phil Sullivan,

Will Rigby Will Rigby is an American musician known for being the drummer of jangle pop band the dB's, a band he formed along with Peter Holsapple, Chris Stamey, and Gene Holder in the late 1970s. He has also performed with many other artists and has releas ...

joined the band on drums. There were also additional performances from

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...

Skip Edwards, with longtime

Dwight Yoakam Dwight David Yoakam (born October 23, 1956) is an American singer-songwriter, actor, and film director. He first achieved mainstream attention in 1986 with the release of his debut album '' Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc.''. Yoakam had considerab ...

collaborator

Pete Anderson Pete Anderson is an American guitarist, music producer, arranger and songwriter. Anderson is most known for his guitar work with, and critically acclaimed production of, country music star Dwight Yoakam from 1984 through 2002, a partnership th ...

producing the album. In May 2022, Shook announced a new

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

side project called Mightmare. They are joined in the band by Ash Lopez on bass, Blake Tallent on guitar, and Ethan Standard on drums. The band's debut album, ''Cruel Liars'', was released on October 14, 2022, via

Kill Rock Stars Kill Rock Stars is an independent record label founded in 1991 by Slim Moon and Tinuviel Sampson, and based in both Olympia, Washington, and Portland, Oregon. The label has released a variety of work in different genres, but was originally known ...

Personal life

Shook has a son. Shook is

non-binary Non-binary and genderqueer are umbrella terms for gender identities that are not solely male or femaleidentities that are outside the gender binary. Non-binary identities fall under the transgender umbrella, since non-binary people typically ...

and uses

they/them Singular ''they'', along with its inflected or derivative forms, ''them'', ''their'', ''theirs'' and ''themselves'' (or ''themself''), is a gender-neutral third-person pronoun. It typically occurs with an unspecified antecedent, in sentence ...

pronouns. Shook grew up in a deeply religious environment, but is now an

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

. Shook is as

bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whi ...

, and is politically active in supporting

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

and

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...

causes. Along with fellow musician and activist Erika Libero (Henbrain), they won the 2016 Indy Arts Award for their work with

Chapel Hill Chapel Hill or Chapelhill may refer to: Places Antarctica * Chapel Hill (Antarctica) Australia *Chapel Hill, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane *Chapel Hill, South Australia, in the Mount Barker council area Canada * Chapel Hill, Ottawa, a neighbo ...

-based Safe Space initiative, which was an effort to get local businesses to put up stickers that offered

safe space The term safe space refers to places "intended to be free of bias, conflict, criticism, or potentially threatening actions, ideas, or conversations". The term originated in LGBT culture, but has since expanded to include any place where a margi ...

s for people needing it, and for their work putting on a two-day music festival, Manifest, which includes bands that have at least one female or

member.

Discography

;with The Devil * 2013: ''Seven'' EP (self-released) ;with The Disarmers * 2015: ''Sidelong'' (self-released, re-released on

in 2017) * 2018: ''Years'' (Bloodshot Records) * 2022: ''Nightroamer'' (

) * 2024: ''Revelations'' (Thirty Tigers) ;with Mightmare *2022: ''Cruel Liars'' (

)

References

External links

Sarah Shook & the Disarmers
*
Sarah Shook & the Disarmers
at

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shook, Sarah 1985 births Living people 21st-century American LGBT people 21st-century American singer-songwriters American atheists American LGBT singers American non-binary musicians American bisexual musicians Bisexual singers Non-binary singers Bisexual non-binary people Bloodshot Records artists Musicians from North Carolina Musicians from Rochester, New York People from Garner, North Carolina Singer-songwriters from New York (state) Thirty Tigers artists