Shane Sager joins me on episode 144.

Shane is from Boston. In his early teens, a hand injury forced him to give up drumming, so he turned to the harmonica and never looked back. At Berklee College of Music he studied drums, as harmonica wasn’t offered, but left after two years to focus fully on the harmonica, studying with top teachers — especially Mike Turk, who helped him shape his chromatic playing.

In his early twenties Shane performed with Sting, later joining his touring band in 2019 and going on to travel the world with him for six years.

He now continues to perform and record with various acts and has a couple of albums of his own coming out soon. An avid writer, he publishes on Substack and released his first harmonica book, Beyond Breath, in 2025, with two more in the pipeline.

Links:

Shane’s Substack: https://shanesager.substack.com/

Shane's book 'Beyond Breath': https://tinyurl.com/5heaf9tw

North Carolina Harp Fest: https://www.ncharmonica.com/

Videos:

Shane’s YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0_bbSLOzrEFkvFCWiPvWahu0O_PQpoOx&si=XPeZ_DtDCvHdjf1n

Shape of My Heart with Sting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jPFdg4CNss&list=PL0_bbSLOzrEFkvFCWiPvWahu0O_PQpoOx

Playing with Sting at Carnegie Hall: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AW8uIFxeAk&list=PL0_bbSLOzrEFkvFCWiPvWahu0O_PQpoOx

Playing with Sting at Time’s Square: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=se1HT8F2c2k

Sting and Stevie Wonder playing ‘Fragile’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPjj8edvjgM

Shane playing at SPAH 2025: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldhIDlz5TeA

Bill Barrett playing Sunny Side of the Street: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_EW85IYO3w

Liam Ward interview with Shane: https://www.learntheharmonica.com/post/sting-harmonica-player-shane-sager-interview

Podcast website:
https://www.harmonicahappyhour.com

Donations:
If you want to make a voluntary donation to help support the running costs of the podcast then please use this link (or visit the podcast website link above):
https://paypal.me/harmonicahappyhour?locale.x=en_GB

Spotify Playlist:
Also check out the Spotify Playlist, which contains most of the songs discussed in the podcast:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5QC6RF2VTfs4iPuasJBqwT?si=M-j3IkiISeefhR7ybm9qIQ

Podcast sponsors:
This podcast is sponsored by SEYDEL harmonicas - visit the oldest harmonica factory in the world at www.seydel1847.com or on Facebook or Instagram at SEYDEL HARMONICAS
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Blue Moon Harmonicas: https://bluemoonharmonicas.com

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