About
Shelley King
Madam Mystic
Shelley King has been busy. Busier than ever touring relentlessly with Carolyn Wonderland’s band for the last several years. But the road has not kept her from working tirelessly on her own music and the creativity has flowed in magical ways for King. Madam Mystic marks Shelley King’s 10th album release and the third album on which King has collaborated with John Magnie and Steve Amedée, members of the renowned New Orleans group, the subdudes.
This album is truly a testament to the power of collaboration and the magic that can arise when talented musicians come together. King recorded the basic tracks with Magnie, Amedée, and esteemed Colorado bassist Eric Thorin, creating a solid foundation for the rest of the album. As the creative process unfolded, she ventured into numerous different studios across the country to capture the essence and soul of each track: two sessions in Colorado, two different Austin, Texas studios, three sessions in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, and finally a Woodstock, New York studio. Every location brought its unique flavor to the music.
In addition to the core team, King enlisted an array of exceptional musicians to elevate the sound of Madam Mystic. Multi-GRAMMY winning Cindy Cashdollar, the steel guitar/dobro virtuoso, lends her incomparable talents to the album. Electric guitar maestro Will McFarlane adds his signature touches. Shawn Camp further enriches the album’s sonic landscape with his mastery of the baritone guitar, mandolin and vocals. Carolyn Wonderland shows off her whistling skills, plays some down and dirty guitar and sings a ton of background vocals. Amedée on drum set, and a wild bag full of percussion toys and sound effects as well as his considerable vocal ability. Magnie plays keyboards, sings, orchestrates hand claps, kazoo choruses, and arranges the horn parts, bringing in northern Colorado horn players Greta Cornett and Phuong Nguyen on a few songs. King performs a heartfelt duet with Matt Skinner, and Tim Cook’s vocals can be heard holding down the bass on several tracks.
Shelley King is known for penning a treasure trove of original material on her own, but on this album she also co-wrote numerous tracks, including one with Nashville songwriting wiz Shawn Camp. On other songs she splits songwriting credit with John Magnie, Matt Skinner and Robert Cline, and her longtime band mate and guitarist Marvin Dykhuis. Madam Mystic effortlessly blends elements of soul, country, R&B, rock and gospel, treating listeners to a captivating musical journey.
King’s decades-long journey in the music industry has been on her terms. Throughout her career, She has taken on the roles of songwriter, band leader, studio producer, owner of her own label and publishing company, to self-release all of her work. Her talent, energy, commitment to the craft, and service to the community led her to be recognized by the Texas Legislature and appointed Official Texas State Musician. She’s won several Austin Music Awards, and had her songs recorded by several internationally known musicians. Her relentless touring efforts, determination and unwavering belief in writing good songs and delivering powerful performances has taken her all over the world where she has built a strong national and international following.
