Sean McConnell
A rootsy singer/songwriter known for his passionate but down to earth approach, Sean McConnell found success as a Nashville songsmith, penning songs throughout the 2000s for country, rock, and pop artists like Brad Paisley, Rascal Flatts, Jason Castro, and Meat Loaf. His concurrent solo career yielded strong outings like 2009's Saints, Thieves, Liars, which won fans among the Texas red dirt music scene and eventually netted him a recording contract with Rounder Records for his eponymous 2016 album. He returned in early 2019 with the self-produced Secondhand Smoke album for the Big Picnic label.
McConnell was born in Massachusetts, where his parents were both musicians who played frequently on the Boston folk circuit. At age 11, McConnell and his family moved to Georgia, and he began teaching himself to play by watching a video of one of his father's favorite performers, David Wilcox. (Wilcox would be a major influence on Sean as well.) Dealing with the isolation of leaving his friends behind in Boston, McConnell started writing songs, inspired by the songwriters his parents listened to -- Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Bruce Springsteen, and Harry Chapin -- as well as the performing style of Michael Jackson. After completing high school, McConnell relocated to Nashville, Tennessee; he enrolled at Middle Tennessee State University, where he studied the music business. He expanded his performing schedule, playing venues in Nashville and in surrounding college towns, and put a renewed focus on writing his own material.
In 2000, McConnell self-released his first album, Here in the Lost and Found, and 200 Orange St followed in 2003. By this time, his songs had impressed a representative of Warner-Chappell Music, who encountered him when he sang on a friend's publishing demo, and he was signed to a publishing deal. His songwriting career soon proved fruitful, and his compositions were recorded by Tim McGraw, Martina McBride, Meat Loaf, the Plain White T's, Eli Young Band, and many more. Despite his success as a tunesmith, McConnell continued to pursue a career as a performer, releasing material at a steady clip through his own label -- three albums, Cold Black Sky, Saints. Thieves. Liars., and Midland, and two EPs, The Walk Around and The B-Side Session, were released between 2006 and 2014 -- and touring frequently, finding an especially loyal audience in Texas, where he was adopted as part of the regional Red Dirt singer/songwriter community. His hard work as an independent paid off and in 2016, McConnell scored a deal with Rounder Records, which released his self-titled fifth album that summer, followed by the acoustic companion LP, Undone, which featured all of the songs recorded live and solo to analog tape. His next outing, 2019's Secondhand Smoke, was entirely self-produced and recorded at his home studio outside of Nashville with McConnell performing nearly all of the instruments himself. It was released by Big Picnic Records. After touring in support of the album, he and his band recorded their homecoming show which was released in 2020 as Live from Basement East.
© Mark Deming /TiVo
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Secondhand Smoke
Pop - Released by Silent Desert Music on Feb 8, 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
A Horrible Beautiful Dream
Alternative & Indie - Released by Sean McConnell on Aug 6, 2021
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Sean McConnell
Pop - Released by Rounder Records on May 13, 2016
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
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Live from Basement East
Pop - Released by Silent Desert - 333 on Apr 10, 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Saints, Thieves, & Liars
Country - Released by Sean McConnell on Apr 9, 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Shotgun (feat. Audra Mae)
Pop - Released by 333 Entertainment on Oct 15, 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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The 13th Apostle
Alternative & Indie - Released by Sean McConnell on Apr 9, 2021
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
The Walk Around - EP
Rock - Released by Sean McConnell on Jan 1, 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
What the Hell is Wrong with Me
Alternative & Indie - Released by Sean McConnell on Jul 16, 2021
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
The B Side Session
Country - Released by Sean McConnell on Mar 25, 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mary And Joe
Christmas Music - Released by Rounder Records on Dec 16, 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Leave the Light On
Alternative & Indie - Released by Sean McConnell on Jun 25, 2021
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
I Built You Up
Alternative & Indie - Released by Sean McConnell on Jun 4, 2021
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Price of Love
Alternative & Indie - Released by Sean McConnell on May 14, 2021
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Nothing Anymore
Alternative & Indie - Released by Sean McConnell on Apr 23, 2021
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Sean McConnell
Pop - Released by Rounder Records on May 13, 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Queen Of Saint Mary’s Choir
Pop - Released by Rounder Records on Jun 3, 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo