Shannon Lea contributes to music for dancers on many fronts. She is a vocalist, band leader, and DJ. Shannon Lea’s vocal training spans decades and genres and she brings this range of experience to her musical pursuits. 

Shannon Lea is a regular DJ at San Francisco venues the 9:20 Special, the Breakaway, and Shimmytown. Her sets are accessible to a wide range of dance experience levels, and her DJing uniquely emphasizes the contributions of female players to the music of the swing era. 

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For the past two years, Shannon Lea has led the amateur music program at Lindy Focus, which involves leading jams, teaching informal classes, establishing norms for shared music-making, and preparing jam materials. Part of this programming includes leading a jam for gender minority musicians, which has gained the attention of many Lindy Focus attendees who make it a point to come and watch. In 2017, Shannon also sat on a panel dedicated to issues of gender representation in the jazz world, particularly the world that intersects with the lindy hop scene. 

Shannon taps into years of music making with her boisterous family to create music jams that are joyful, inclusive, glorious, musical affairs. In addition to Lindy Focus, she has been recruited to lead jams for Weirdo Weekend, Southern Swing Challenge, and Fog City Stomp.