Earlham Echo

June 23, 2026

Shannon Curfman has always been a little ahead of the curve—in her career and in her life in general. She was singing professionally by the time she was 7 years old. She recorded her first album when she was 14. At 25, she got the job of a lifetime when she joined Kid Rock’s touring band, Twisted Brown Trucker.

Now 40, Curfman has achieved another life milestone earlier than most of us—she’s an empty nester. A child going off to college is never easy for a parent, but Curfman is handling the situation like a pro—like a professional musician, to be more precise.

“Now I have all this time on my hands,” said Curfman, “so we put a studio in the house in what used to be the playroom.”

Having a place to play in the house has come in handy for Curfman before. When she first started writing songs, good, reliable musicians to write with were difficult to find. So she took up the guitar when she was 10 and got the hang of it quickly. The next thing she knew, she had a full band—in her parents’ house.

“As I was learning how to play guitar,” she said, “my guitar instructor just stopped me one day in my class and said, ‘You know, I have a band and we’re looking for a lead singer. You always talk about wanting a band. Why don’t we just try this together?’ They were all much older than me. I talked to my mom about it and she said, ‘You know, just give it a shot. Just see what happens.’ We took it really seriously. We practiced every single day for many, many hours. In my living room at my parents’ house—we ended up having a PA in there and a full band set up.”

Soon the band was touring regionally. When Curfman, who hails from Fargo, ND, got to Minneapolis, that was as ‘big time’ as she dared to dream about up to that point.

“I got a show at Bunkers in Minneapolis,” she said. “And that was a huge deal for me because that’s where Prince hung out, and all these incredible players. And the owner ended up offering me a Tuesday night residency, and I just couldn’t believe it. So I started recording an album.”

She recorded and released that record, Loud Guitars, Big Suspicions, independently. When it started selling, the big labels noticed and came calling. After Arista won the bidding war, the record blew up nationally, reaching No. 3 on Billboard’s blues chart. The record stunned critics and audiences alike, showcasing not only impressive guitar skills, but also a powerful, soulful voice that many listeners assumed belonged to a much older performer.

Curfman released an EP and two more LPs by 2010, and that’s when she got an offer she couldn’t refuse. Kid Rock called and offered her a spot in his touring band. It wasn’t an easy decision for her to put her solo career on the back burner, but it was one that made sense for her then—and still does.

“I decided I would just try it for a couple of months and see how it went,” she said. “And it was really nice to not be the one in control of everything and not be responsible for all these employees. So it was my first time being an employee and I wasn’t worrying about the gas money and the merch sales and all those things. So Bob (Kid Rock) and I talked, and I said this is something that I could do long term, as long as I’m able to bring my daughter, as well. He’s a single father so he totally understood. So it was a great change of pace, and it allowed me to be able to be there for my daughter so much more.”

Musically, Curfman enjoys the best of both worlds. The security and steady paycheck of the Kid Rock gig, and also the creative freedom of gigging with her own band.

“They’re completely different outlets, you know?” she said. “I’m more blues, classic rock, traditional. Bob is so much more rap rock. Well, he kind of runs the gamut of styles, and it’s ever changing. But I love to be the person out there telling the story and being the lead singer and playing lead guitar. That just fulfills me in a completely different way than the Kid Rock gig does.”

As a guitarist, Curfman can shred, but she concentrates on playing tastefully instead of using every trick in the book on every lead. Her style is less about technical prowess and more about

moving listeners emotionally through her songs.

“I’m much more interested in playing a melody. I play more like I sing,” said Curfman. “I love guitar players like Jeff Beck and Hendrix because of exactly that. You know, they had all the skill. They could play whatever they wanted, but they really had restraint. They didn’t do what their ego maybe told them, but instead did what lended itself to the song the most. That’s really what hooks me as a listener.”