Shannon was raised in the rural North Florida town of Chiefland. He was immersed in acoustic and country music at a young age by his family.  His early influences include Merle Haggard, Randy Travis, Tony Rice, Keith Whitley, Ricky Skaggs, and the Osborne Brothers. He began playing guitar on his own at age 8 and was soon singing in churches, at livestock fairs, and other venues around the Tri-County area.

Shannon started his professional career with the Lost and Found in 1992, moving to Virginia that summer. In December Shannon joined the Larry Stephenson Band and was an integral sideman for 3 years. During his tenure with Larry, Shannon recorded 2 cds, toured extensively throughout the U.S. and Canada, and performed on the prestigious Grand Ole Opry. In 1995, Shannon teamed with several top-flight Southwest Virginia musicians and created Savannah Road, recording and performing with them for 6 years.

After a couple of years off the road, he re-entered the bluegrass profession, touring with Melonie Cannon in 2004 and 2005. In the fall of 2005, he became guitarist and lead vocalist with The Lonesome River Band, touring and recording with the award-winning band until 2007.

Shannon also regularly performs with own bluegrass and traditional country band, County Clare. This aggregation includes his talented wife Heather, Casey Murray on banjo, John Boulware on fiddle and Ron Inscore on mandolin. Several of the musicians in County Clare are featured prominently on Shannon’s new solo record “The Sideman Steps Out”. Shannon is really excited about this new venture and can't wait for what the future has in store for he and Heather and the band.  In his spare time Shannon enjoys singing and having fun with Heather, reading historical fiction, U.S. History, fishing, and playing golf.  He has a B.S. Degree from Radford University and an M.A. from Samford University and currently teaches United States History and coaches offensive line at St. Clair County High School in Odenville, Alabama.

"He (Shannon) possesses a fluid, natural guitar style that matches his voice perfectly: great tone, phrasing and dynamics in both. This is a musical cat right here....." ~~ Tim Stafford of Blue Highway