The Shawna Jackson Band is comprised of six talented musicians with many (many!) years of experience in the music industry in general, and country music specifically. Fronted by the very talented Shawna Jackson, they have appeared throughout southern NH, northern MA, and southern ME at a variety of venues ranging from country fairs, to bars and various country music festivals. Offering a variety of covers from such country mega stars as Taylor Swift, Kelsea Ballerini, Miranda Lambert, Maren Morris as well as Blake Shelton, Luke Bryan, Dylan Scott, Luke Combs and others, they also delve into classic rock covers by Bryan Adams, John Cougar Mellencamp, and the Eagles, to name but a few. A favorite of crowds everywhere they play, they entertain with an impressive sound and a great show. Check out their next performances, it's sure to be a fantastic time!
Shawna Jackson
The youngest in a family of 4 girls, Shawna found herself the family entertainer, singing to her family as little more than a toddler using a screwdriver as a mic and the brick fireplace base as a stage. Her passion for music grew to include singing gospel music solos in church and competitions. Shawna has toured Japan, Hong Kong and China, and while in college, she earned a spot in an elite gospel singing group. She also toured the West Coast and recorded an album while participating in several bands, performing up and down the West Coast and Pacific Northwest, including Alaska and the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada. After recording an original CD, she stepped away from music for several years to raise her children. Shawna returned to her musical roots in 2018 when she joined the “In Cahoots” band, which rebranded in 2022 as The Shawna Jackson Band. She provides powerhouse vocals along with a musicianship seldom found outside of a very few singers.
Bruce Stone has been playing in Country cover bands since the late seventies. After playing in a variety of local country bands Bruce was fortunate enough to found and play with the same band for 10 years all along the Sacramento and the Highway 49 circuit in California. After returning home to NH Bruce was again fortunate enough to join and help cofound a local country band enjoying a successful 7-year run. When the band disbanded, he and several former bandmates began a project that would evolve to become The Shawna Jackson Band.
Bruce also served as a board member for Granite State Country Music Organization (GSCMO) and still maintains contact with them. His heart remains rooted in country music, and he looks forward to many more years of performing.
Rick Leavitt grew up in a home filled with traditional country music which has remained a strong influence on him over the years. He began playing drums at the age of 12. By his early 20’s, he had the opportunity and pleasure to open for such Nashville artists TG Shepard, Johnny Russell and Ernest Tubb at Lone Star Ranch located in southern New Hampshire, as well as playing with Dick Curliss, Dave Dudley and Marty Haggard.
Over the past 30 years, Rick has played with many country bands in the New England area and in the past few years opened for JoDee Messina, Tracy Byrd, Mark Wills, George Jones, the Outlaws, Kellie Pickler and Reba. Although he enjoys different genres of music, country is still where his heart remains today.
Craig Farrington started playing guitar after watching the Beatles premiere on the Ed Sullivan show. During his career he has toured New England and New York with Ed Vadas Big City Blues Band, competed in International Blues Challenge in Memphis with the Blues Tonight Band and has accompanied several women Country Singers during the past ten years. He has opened for artists such as Ritchie Havens, Joe Perry and John Hammond. Craig also performs as an acoustic artist/singer. In addition to performing Craig also teaches guitar.
Bassist/Vocalist John Hebert has played in cover bands since high school and was fortunate enough to play in ensemble groups that toured Europe when he was stationed in Italy with the US Air Force, playing guitar, drums, bass, and keyboards while doing vocals.
While in college, John played in a 6 piece blues combo in Illinois along the I-57 corridor from St. Louis to Champaign to Chicago. After a "life break" that focused on family and his career, John returned to music performance in 2020 as a full time musician, most recently appearing with “Left in the Dark”, a classic rock band based out of Manchester, NH (2020-2022).
He is also an accomplished low brass player, playing in small and large ensembles across the US.
Blake Duncan is a multi-instrumentalist out of North Carolina, who brings not only amazing keyboard skills to the band, but provides vocals and sound engineering to the band also. Blake has played in a variety of classic rock, country, and Christian cover bands, and has owned and operated his own studios in Georgia, Alabama, and now Kingston, NH.
Blake’s Sonic Trinity Studios (www.sonictrinitystudios.com) provides recording, mixing, and engineering services to the NH music family. Please give Blake a warm welcome, and come on out and see us at our next show.