We caught up with Sister Ghost's Shannon Delores O'Neill following a two-arena tour with Snow Patrol ...
It’s been a few years since Sister Ghost joined us in London for LOUD WOMEN Fest (was it 2019?) – we’ve missed you! What have you been up to?
I’ve missed Loud Women too – it’s been a minute! Last time Sister Ghost played Loud Women was at the festival in September 2021 – I need to get myself and the ghoul gang back over asap. Since then I recorded my debut album Beyond The Water in 2022. I recorded it in Los Angeles with the amazing producer Brad Wood who worked with two of my biggest influences and inspirations – Liz Phair and Veruca Salt! My album was released on Halloween last year and I’ve been playing shows to promote it across the UK & Ireland and played two shows in Los Angeles last summer too that were ones to remember for sure.
So, supporting Snow Patrol at two arena shows … we need the full scoop please! How did this come about?
I was asked by Gary Lightbody from Snow Patrol back in November last year and I had to keep it a secret until January this year. He’s been a fan of my music and when he asked me I was elated – I’ve been working and gigging tirelessly for years so when the offer came I was like ‘finally an opportunity I’ve always dreamed of has come along!’.
How did you feel in the run up to the shows?
These arena shows were honestly the majority of what I focussed my energy and thoughts on for 4 months of my life and I was a mix of nerves, excitement and gratitude that entire time.
In terms of preparation, I spent time thinking about what Sister Ghost songs would work best / which stories I wanted to tell during this opportunity of performing for such a huge audience of thousands. I needed to make sure the set was strictly 30mins maximum so I was able to fit in 8 songs, including a cover of a famous Irish punk song – ‘Teenage Kicks’ (the band The Undertones are from Derry so that moment was special for me, as I am a Derry girl!).
With the help of one of my friends (who is an amazing seamstress and textile artist) I spent a lot of time designing what me and the band wore on stage – my suede vest took over 3000 gems to decorate! I also created a custom scratch-plate for one of the 2 guitars I used on stage so it would reflect the bright stage lights – I just wanted to go full arena fun with things because what better chance than that to add theatrical vibes to the set?!
The two musicians that joined me for these shows were Presley Zierman (they/them) on drums (from Los Angeles) and Alice Black (she/her) on bass and backing vocals (from Glasgow). I met both of them in 2023 when we worked together at Amplify Arts Project in California (where we teach girls and gender-expansive youth to make music and perform live.) We lived together for two weeks in the run up to the arena shows, rehearsing and playing two smaller warm up shows as well in Belfast and Derry. It was really nice to share my part of the world with them and since I live quite rurally (and I own goats now!) they were able to get a taste for rural Irish life, which was a new experience for both of them. They were both great to work with and it was a pleasure to have them play these huge shows with me.
How did you get ready to go on stage – any rituals?
Honestly the time between soundcheck and stage flew by on both evenings in Dublin and Belfast so we didn’t get a lot of time but the time we did have was spent having fun, warming up, taking photos and videos and just trying to stay present and enjoy every moment as much as possible.
I like to listen to a song by someone who inspires me to get myself pumped up, so both nights I thought of Stevie Nicks and blasted ‘Wild Heart’ in the dressing room in Dublin and then we all did karaoke to ‘The Chain’ by Fleetwood Mac in Belfast. High fives all round and ‘we got this!’ and we may have had a cheeky shot of whiskey together before the Belfast curtain call.
The walk from the dressing room to the curtains at the side of the stage was so exciting too. Alice and I watched Spinal Tap a few nights before the tour so I kept thinking about the scene where they get lost on the way to the stage so I was just giggling away about that.
What was it like walking out on that massive stage?
Exciting! In Dublin I was definitely more scared because it was the first time I’d ever seen a crowd that big waiting to hear my songs but once that first drum roll kicked in it was fine. Belfast was just fun and exciting from start to finish because we all knew what to expect and I had friends and family in the audience too which was so nice. I think remembering to have fun is top priority no matter how big the venue is – that definitely helped calm any nerves.
What was the crowd reaction?
Honestly so warm and welcoming and it was insanely cool to see the size of the crowd grow and grow as the set went on. By the end of both sets in Dublin and Belfast the place was pretty much full, so I’m thrilled that the photographer captured that at the end. There was also a really sweet moment at the Belfast show when I spotted a woman at the barrier who had made a Sister Ghost banner and was holding it up – I’ve never had that happen before so that felt amazing!
Did you get to hang with Snow Patrol – any fun stories from backstage?
Those guys are like next level famous so truthfully we only saw them (and Courtney Cox!!) briefly backstage but Nathan from the band did stop me to tell me that he watched our set in Dublin and told me he loved it and said it was like we ‘kicked the door down’. That made me smile because that’s exactly how I want a Sister Ghost show to feel – wild and powerful!
Tell us more about your involvement with Girls Rock NI.
I started Girls Rock School NI in 2016 and have been running workshops and camps over the years in Belfast and I’m thrilled to say that our work has helped to make the Irish music scene way more diverse. We haven’t been able to get funding to run a camp since 2020 so we have been running smaller workshops, lessons and jam sessions but it’s my hope that with some funding help we can run some camps again because that was amazing doing those.
What’s next for Sister Ghost?
I have a new single coming out in May along with a music video that Alice & I made in the Joshua Tree area of the Mojave desert in California which I cannot wait to share! I’m also going to be working on new material over the next while as well as hitting the road and playing shows across Ireland, Scotland, England and California.
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