Susan Shann

Originally from northwest New Jersey, Susan was influenced early on by the vocal genius of Ella Fitzgerald, the blues fire of Stevie Ray Vaughn, the psychedelic landscapes of Pink Floyd, the astounding creativity of Joni Mitchell and so many others. She began writing songs and playing guitar in her teens, performing at coffeehouses and restaurants throughout the area. After acquiring a music education degree from Montclair State University with highest honors, she taught for several years before making the decision to move to Nashville, Tennessee in 2004 to pursue a career as a songwriter and performer.  
   
Called by the urgency of climate change and other environmental issues, Susan became very involved with environmental activism and community organizing. Within a short period of time, she earned a permaculture design certificate, founded Transition Nashville and stablished “Earth Revolution”, a local access environmental program  produced with a team of volunteers for three years. Susan also participated in the work of many other organizations focused on environmental and social justice issues, establishing a reputation as a local leader and tireless advocate for needed change.  
   
Susan returned her full focus to the task of creating great music in 2016, earning a publishing contract with Grammy-winning producer Bill Vorndick, with whom she released her third full-length album, "Rhythm of the Road," in November 2017. She released a critically acclaimed acoustic collection, "Reckless Abandon", in 2018. She had several successful cuts by independent artists, including "You Reap What You Sow", recorded by Mara Levine, which topped both Folk and Grassicana charts for many weeks between 2018-2020, and won 1st place in the international song contest of "Musicians United to Protect Bristol Bay" for her song "Price on Heaven", while placing prominently in several others. She also had the great honor of of sitting with the world-famous western swing band “The Time Jumpers” many times, as well as being invited to perform at such prestigious local events as “Tin Pan South” and many others. 

But "once an activist, always an activist", they say. When Covid came along, Susan had a chance to reflect deeply on what was happening in the world from spiritual, political, ecological and social justice perspectives, as well as her own desire to contribute in a positive and meaningful way to the greater well-being of all. After committing to a much deeper level of spiritual practice and academic learning, she realized she needed to step forward and be a voice for change in a whole new way. Thus "Integrative Keynote Concerts" was born. 

Combining the socially conscious music she was already creating with the new role of public speaking, Susan was first given the opportunity to speak at Center for Spiritual Living Nashville on June 6th 2021, and has been invited back three times since then to share her message and music. All of these talks and performances are available for viewing online and linked HERE. 

Susan's core message is designed to inspire and awaken audiences to a deeper sense of our profound interconnectedness with both our human and non-human family, exploring the relationships between systems thinking, ancient wisdom, contemporary challenges, innovative solutions and the astonishing capacities of human compassion and creativity to transform our world. For more information or to book Susan for an event, go to her Integrative Keynote Concerts page.