Shannon Forrest (born August 22, 1973 in

Easley, South Carolina Easley is a city in Pickens County (with parts extending into Anderson County) in the State of South Carolina. Most of the city lies in Pickens County, with a small portion of the city in Anderson County. In 2001, Easley hosted the Big League ...

) is an American drummer and percussionist known primarily for his session work. As a session drummer, he has contributed to the work of many well-known artists, and he is also a producer and

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the lim ...

. Additionally, he was the touring drummer of Toto from 2014 to 2019.

Biography

Session work

Forrest began his career working with his father Otis Forrest at The Sounding Board Studio in Easley, SC. There he recorded many projects with traditional southern Gospel and local country artists. He moved on to work as a

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and t ...

session musician, where Forrest has been involved in the recording of successful albums by

Brooks & Dunn Brooks & Dunn are an American country music duo consisting of Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn, both of whom are vocalists and songwriters. The duo was founded in 1990 through the suggestion of Tim DuBois. Before their formation, both members were solo ...

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bo ...

Rascal Flatts Rascal Flatts is an American country music band founded in 1999. The band members were Gary LeVox (lead vocals), Jay DeMarcus (bass guitar, background vocals), and Joe Don Rooney (lead guitar, background vocals). DeMarcus is LeVox's second cousi ...

Carrie Underwood Carrie Marie Underwood (born March 10, 1983) is an American singer. She rose to prominence after winning the fourth season of ''American Idol'' in 2005. Her single " Inside Your Heaven" made her the only country artist to debut atop the ''Bil ...

Mary Chapin Carpenter Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also call ...

The Chieftains The Chieftains are a traditional Irish folk band formed in Dublin in 1962, by Paddy Moloney, Seán Potts and Michael Tubridy. Their sound, which is almost entirely instrumental and largely built around uilleann pipes, has become synonymou ...

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album '' Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of ''Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and '' Stardust'' (197 ...

Ricky Skaggs Rickie Lee Skaggs (born July 18, 1954), known professionally as Ricky Skaggs, is an American neotraditional country and bluegrass singer, musician, producer, and composer. He primarily plays mandolin; however, he also plays fiddle, guitar, ma ...

Trisha Yearwood Patricia Lynn Yearwood (born September 19, 1964) is an American singer, actress, author and television personality. She rose to fame with her 1991 debut single " She's in Love with the Boy," which became a number one hit on the ''Billboard'' c ...

Lee Ann Womack Lee Ann Womack Liddell (; born August 19, 1966) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and musician. Her 2000 single, "I Hope You Dance" was a major crossover music hit, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Country Chart and the Top 1 ...

Jerry Douglas Gerald Calvin "Jerry" Douglas (born May 28, 1956) is an American Dobro and lap steel guitar player and record producer. Career In addition to his fourteen solo recordings, Douglas has played on more than 1,600 albums. As a sideman, he ha ...

Merle Haggard Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American country music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler. Haggard was born in Oildale, California, toward the end of the Great Depression. His childhood was troubled a ...

, Tim McGraw, Josh Turner, Toby Keith, Alabama, Montgomery Gentry, Kenny Rogers and many others.

Toto

Forrest has been a touring musician with Toto since 2014, taking the place of Keith Carlock. Forrest performed with Toto in 2009 when they were inducted into the

Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum The Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum (MHOF) in Nashville honors all musicians regardless of genre or instrument. The MHOF timeline starts with the beginning of recorded music and inductees are nominated by current members of the American Fede ...

in Nashville and he cites

Jeff Porcaro Jeffrey Thomas Porcaro (; April 1, 1954 – August 5, 1992) was an American drummer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for his work with the rock band Toto but is one of the most recorded session musicians in history, working on ...

and Lenny Castro as his biggest influences. After disbanding in 2019, Toto returned in 2020 with a new lineup which didn't include Forrest.

Dukes of September

From 2010 to 2012, Forrest played with

Boz Scaggs William Royce "Boz" Scaggs (born June 8, 1944) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. An early bandmate of Steve Miller in The Ardells and the Steve Miller Band, he began his solo career in 1969, though he lacked a major hit until h ...

, Michael McDonald, and

Donald Fagen Donald Jay Fagen (born January 10, 1948) is an American musician best known as the co-founder, lead singer, co-songwriter, and keyboardist of the band Steely Dan, formed in the early 1970s with musical partner Walter Becker. In addition to his ...

on their Dukes of September tours.

Equipment

Forrest currently plays

Pearl Drums , simply known as Pearl, is a multinational corporation based in Japan with a wide range of products, predominantly percussion instruments. History Pearl was founded by Katsumi Yanagisawa -who began manufacturing music stands in Sumida, Tokyo ...

Paiste Paiste (English pronunciation: , ) is a Swiss musical instrument manufacturing company. It is the world's third largest manufacturer of cymbals, gongs, and metal percussion. is an Estonian word that means "shine". Apart from cymbals and gong ...

Cymbal A cymbal is a common percussion instrument. Often used in pairs, cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys. The majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs soun ...

Remo Remo Inc. is an American musical instruments manufacturing company based in Valencia, California, and founded by Remo Belli in 1957. Products manufactured include drum kits, drumheads, drums, and hardware. History Drummer and founder R ...

Drumhead A drumhead or drum skin is a membrane stretched over one or both of the open ends of a drum. The drumhead is struck with sticks, mallets, or hands, so that it vibrates and the sound resonates through the drum. Additionally outside of percus ...

s, and Innovative Percussion. Previously, he was the sole exclusive artist for the

Brady Drum Company Brady Drum Company was an Australian manufacturing company who specialised in handcrafted drums since 1980. The designs and workmanship was predominantly the duty of the company's creator, Chris Brady. The firm used native Australian hardwoods, ...

. For his work with Toto, Forrest used a Brady Jarrah Ply drum kit with a red sparkle finish, which was mounted on a

Pearl A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle) of a living shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is composed of calcium ca ...

Icon rack. Forrest also plays Gon Bops Mariano Congas, Mariano

bongos Bongos ( es, bongó) are an Afro-Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of small open bottomed hand drums of different sizes. They are struck with both hands, most commonly in an eight-stroke pattern called ''martillo'' (hammer). The ...

, and Mariano

Djembe A djembe or jembe ( ; from Maninka language, Malinke ''jembe'' , N'Ko script, N'Ko: ) is a rope-tuned skin-covered goblet drum played with bare hands, originally from West Africa. According to the Bambara people in Mali, the name of the djembe ...

Awards

* Academy of Country Music Award for Drummer of the Year (seven times)

Discography

This section presents a partial list of albums to which Forrest has contributed.

1994–99

* 1994: The Arnolds – ''Read Between the Nails'' (Cherish Music) * 1994: The Freemans – ''In a High Wind'' (Goldenvine) * 1996:

Jeff Foxworthy Jeffrey Marshall Foxworthy (born September 6, 1958) is an American actor, author, comedian, producer and writer. He is a member of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, with Larry the Cable Guy, Bill Engvall, and Ron White. Known for his "You might be a ...

– '' Crank It Up: The Music Album'' (

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

) * 1997:

The Kinleys The Kinleys were an American country music duo composed of identical twin sisters Heather and Jennifer Kinley (born November 5, 1970). Between 1997 and 2000, they recorded two albums for Epic Records (1997's '' Just Between You and Me'' and 2000's ...

– '' Just Between You and Me'' ( Epic) * 1997:

– ''Life is a Journey'' (

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most ...

) * 1997: Sheri Easter – ''Sheri'' (Spring Hill) * 1997: The Bishops – ''Reach The World'' (Homeland) * 1997: John Hager – ''October Road'' (PWD/Huge) * 1997: Matt King – ''Five O'Clock Hero'' (Atlantic) * 1998:

Martina McBride Martina Mariea McBride (née Schiff, born July 29, 1966) is an American country music singer-songwriter and record producer. She is known for her soprano singing range and her country pop material. McBride was born in Sharon, Kansas, and reloca ...

– '' White Christmas'' (RCA) * 1998: The Wilkinsons – '' Nothing but Love'' (

Giant In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: ''gigas'', cognate giga-) are beings of human-like appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''giant'' is first attested in 1297 f ...

) * 1998:

Don Williams Donald Ray Williams (May 27, 1939 – September 8, 2017) was an American country singer, songwriter, and 2010 inductee into the Country Music Hall of Fame. He began his solo career in 1971, singing popular ballads and amassing seventeen number ...

– ''I Turn the Page'' (Giant) * 1999: Jennifer Day – ''The Fun of Your Love'' ( BNA)

2000–04

* 2000:

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = " Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,76 ...

– '' When It All Goes South'' (RCA) * 2000: Steph Carse – ''Steph Carse'' (H2E) * 2000:

and Friends – ''Big Mon: The Songs of

Bill Monroe William Smith "Bill" Monroe (; September 13, 1911 – September 9, 1996) was an American mandolinist, singer, and songwriter, who created the bluegrass music genre. Because of this, he is often called the " Father of Bluegrass". The genre ta ...

'' (Skaggs Family) * 2000:

– '' II'' (Epic) * 2000:

Kenny Rogers Kenneth Ray Rogers (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particularly popular with country audiences but also charted mo ...

– '' There You Go Again'' (Dreamcatcher) * 2001:

Jim Brickman James Merrill Brickman (born November 20, 1961) is an American pop songwriter, pianist and radio host. Brickman has earned two Grammy nominations for his albums ''Peace'' (2003) for Best Instrumental, and ''Faith'' (2009) for Best New Age Album. ...

– ''Simple Things'' (

Windham Hill Windham Hill Records was an independent record label that specialized in instrumental acoustic music. It was founded by guitarist William Ackerman and Anne Robinson (née McGilvray) in 1976 and was popular in the 1980s and 1990s. The label wa ...

) * 2001:

– '' Steers & Stripes'' (Arista Nashville) * 2001:

Chris Cagle Christopher Norris Cagle (born November 10, 1968) is an American country music artist. He was first known for writing songs for David Kersh before signing to Virgin Records Nashville in 2000. Cagle made his debut on ''Billboard'' Hot Country S ...

– '' Play It Loud'' (Capitol) * 2001:

Wanessa Camargo Wanessa Godói Camargo Buaiz (born 28 December 1982), known professionally as Wanessa, is a Brazilian singer-songwriter. Early life Camargo is the daughter of Brazilian sertanejo singer Zezé Di Camargo, from the duo Zezé Di Camargo & Luci ...

– ''

'' (BMG Brasil) * 2002:

Bonnie Bramlett Bonnie Bramlett (born Bonnie Lynn O'Farrell, November 8, 1944) is an American singer and occasional actress known for performing with her husband, Delaney Bramlett, as Delaney & Bonnie. She continues to sing as a solo artist. Life and career ...

– ''I'm Still The Same'' (

Koch Records MNRK Music Group (pronounced "monarch", formerly known as Koch Records and eOne Music) is a New York City-based independent record label and music management company. It was formed in 2009 from the music assets of Koch Entertainment, which had b ...

) * 2002:

Art Garfunkel Arthur Ira Garfunkel (born November 5, 1941) is an American singer, poet, and actor. He is best known for his partnership with Paul Simon in the folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel. Highlights of Garfunkel's solo music career include one top-10 h ...

with Maia Sharp and Buddy Mondlock – '' Everything Waits to be Noticed'' (

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

) * 2002:

Toby Keith Toby Keith Covel (born July 8, 1961), known professionally as Toby Keith, is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor, and record producer. He released his first four studio albums—1993's '' Toby Keith'', 1994's ''Boomtown'', 1996 ...

– '' Unleashed'' ( DreamWorks) * 2002: Shana Morrison – '' 7 Wishes'' (

Vanguard The vanguard (also called the advance guard) is the leading part of an advancing military formation. It has a number of functions, including seeking out the enemy and securing ground in advance of the main force. History The vanguard derives f ...

) * 2002:

Joe Nichols Joseph Edward Nichols (born November 26, 1976) is an American country music artist. Between 1996 and 2001, he held recording contracts with the Intersound and Giant labels. In 2002, he signed with Universal South Records, now known as Show Dog-U ...

– '' Man with a Memory'' (Universal South) * 2003:

Josh Turner Joshua Otis Turner (born November 20, 1977) is an American country and gospel singer and songwriter. In 2003, he signed to MCA Nashville Records. That same year, his debut album's title track, " Long Black Train", was his breakthrough single ...

– '' Long Black Train'' (MCA Nashville) * 2004:

Maura O'Connell Maura O'Connell (born 16 September 1958) is an Irish singer and actress. She is known for her contemporary interpretations of Irish folk songs, strongly influenced by American country music. Background O'Connell was born in Ennis, the main to ...

– ''Don't I Know'' (Sugar Hill) * 2004: Mindy Smith – '' One Moment More'' (Vanguard) * 2004:

Montgomery Gentry Montgomery Gentry is an American country music duo founded by singers Eddie Montgomery and Troy Gentry, both Kentucky natives. They began performing together in the 1990s as part of two different bands with Montgomery's brother, John Michael M ...

– '' You Do Your Thing'' ( Columbia) * 2004:

Phil Vassar Phillip George Vassar Jr. (born May 28, 1962) is an American country music artist. Vassar made his debut on the country music scene in the late 1990s, co-writing singles for several country artists, including Tim McGraw (" For a Little While", ...

– '' Shaken Not Stirred'' (Arista Nashville)

2005–09

* 2005:

Faith Hill Audrey Faith McGraw (; born September 21, 1967), known professionally as Faith Hill, is an American singer and actress. She is one of the most successful country music artists of all time, having sold more than 40 million albums worldwide. Hill' ...

– ''

Fireflies The Lampyridae are a family of elateroid beetles with more than 2,000 described species, many of which are light-emitting. They are soft-bodied beetles commonly called fireflies, lightning bugs, or glowworms for their conspicuous production ...

'' (

) * 2005:

– ''

Some Hearts ''Some Hearts'' is the debut studio album by American singer and songwriter Carrie Underwood, released in the United States on November 15, 2005, by Arista Nashville. The album contains the number one country singles "Jesus, Take the Wheel", " D ...

'' (

Arista Nashville Arista Nashville is an American record label that serves as a wholly owned division of Sony Music, operated under the Sony Music Nashville division. Founded in 1989, the label specializes in country music artists, including Alan Jackson, Brook ...

) * 2005:

– '' Jasper County'' (MCA Nashville) * 2006:

– '' Hillbilly Deluxe'' (

) * 2006:

Matt Dusk Matthew-Aaron Dusk (born November 19, 1978) is a Canadian jazz vocalist. He has four certified gold albums: '' Two Shots'', '' Good News'', ''Old School Yule!'' and ''JetSetJazz'', and two certified platinum albums; ''My Funny Valentine: The Che ...

– '' Back in Town'' ( Decca) * 2006:

– ''

White Trash with Money ''White Trash with Money'' is the tenth studio album by American country music artist Toby Keith. It was released on April 11, 2006 by Show Dog Nashville. This was Keith's first album for the label after DreamWorks Records went out of business. Th ...

'' ( Show Dog Nashville) * 2006:

– '' Water & Bridges'' (Capitol Nashville) * 2006:

– '' Your Man'' ( MCA Nashville) * 2007:

– '' Real Things'' ( Universal South) * 2007: Josh Turner – '' Everything Is Fine'' (MCA Nashville) – banjo, resonator guitar, acoustic guitar * 2008: Trace Adkins – '' X (Ten)'' (Capitol Nashville) * 2008:

Jessica Simpson Jessica Ann Simpson (born July 10, 1980) is an American singer, actress, entrepreneur and philanthropist. After performing in church choirs as a child, Simpson signed with Columbia Records in 1997, aged seventeen. Her debut studio album, '' Swe ...

– '' Do You Know'' (Epic) * 2009:

Reba McEntire Reba Nell McEntire (born March 28, 1955), or simply Reba, is an American country music singer and actress. Dubbed " the Queen of Country", she has sold more than 75 million records worldwide. Since the 1970s, McEntire has placed over 100 single ...

– '' Keep on Loving You'' (Valory)

2010–present

* 2010:

– ''

Speak Now ''Speak Now'' is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, released on October 25, 2010, through Big Machine Records. Swift wrote the album entirely herself within two years, while she was promoting her second studio alb ...

'' (Big Machine Records) * 2010:

– '' Haywire'' (MCA Nashville) * 2012:

Jana Kramer Jana Rae Kramer (born December 2, 1983) Gives birthplace as Detroit, Michigan, of which Rochester Hills is a suburb. is an American country music singer and actress. She is known for her role as Alex Dupre on the television series '' One Tree ...

– ''

'' ( Elektra Nashville) * 2012:

– ''

Punching Bag A punching bag (or, British English, punchbag) is a sturdy bag designed to be repeatedly punched. A punching bag is usually cylindrical, and filled with various materials of suitable hardness. History Punching bags have been used in martial ar ...

'' (MCA Nashville) * 2014:

Tim McGraw Samuel Timothy McGraw (born May 1, 1967) is an American country singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He has released 16 studio albums (11 for Curb Records, four for Big Machine Records and one for Arista Nashville). 10 of those albums ...

– '' Sundown Heaven Town'' (Big Machine) * 2014: Josh Thompson - '' Turn it Up'' (

Show Dog A show dog might refer to any dog entered into a dog show. More specifically, a ''show dog'' is a dog which has been specially bred, trained, and/or groomed to conform to the specifications of dog shows, so as to have a chance of winning. Often u ...

) * 2015:

Don Henley Donald Hugh Henley (born July 22, 1947) is an American musician and a founding member of the rock band Eagles. He is the drummer and one of the lead singers for the Eagles. Henley sang the lead vocals on Eagles hits such as " Witchy Woman", " D ...

– '' Cass County'' ( Capitol) * 2017:

– ''

Deep South The Deep South or the Lower South is a cultural and geographic subregion in the Southern United States. The term was first used to describe the states most dependent on plantations and slavery prior to the American Civil War. Following the w ...

'' (MCA Nashville) * 2017: Michael McDonald – '' Wide Open'' (Chonin- BMG) * 2018: Toto – '' Old Is New'' (Columbia) * 2019: Toto – ''40 Tours Around the Sun'' (

Eagle Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, jus ...

)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Forrest, Shannon Living people American rock drummers American session musicians 1976 births 20th-century American drummers American male drummers 21st-century American drummers 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians