Going from listening to Taylor Swift and The Chicks on her pink CD player as a child, Shannon Wiancko, senior and folk-pop artist, has now developed her love for music into a career as a singer-songwriter. Since releasing her first song, “Daisy Picker,” in June 2024, Wiancko has released multiple EPs and performed in shows across Portland.

Although Wiancko grew up writing songs, she didn’t decide to start releasing her own music until middle school, leading her to release her first single during her sophomore year of high school.

“I just had a lot of angst [in middle school], and I think I saw people doing what I wanted to do, and I went to concerts, and I couldn’t really shake this dream of mine, I was like, ‘I need to do this, I need to release music,’” Wiancko said.

Through Youth Music Project, a local music school and nonprofit, Wiancko was first able to connect with Kyle Delfatti, founder and producer for Sucker Lake Records, leading her in April 2024 to sign with the label and start releasing music.

Growing up, Wiancko always had a passion for songwriting. For Christmas one year, her parents gifted her a songwriting journal, which kick-started her journey to creating original music.

“It was good to start writing songs when I was younger, because kids have this lack of embarrassment. They just have this confidence that I try to maintain as I grow older,” Wiancko said. “So that’s what was kind of tricky about being in high school, I didn’t have the same confidence from when I was eight, [when] I was writing songs about grass and loving my parents.”

Wiancko writes and produces her music with the help of Delfatti and is inspired by artists like Jason Isbell, Phoebe Bridgers, Lorde, and Charli XCX. Oftentimes, song ideas stem from her own emotions and feelings.

“Usually when I start writing a song, it’s because I have a feeling that I can’t sit with, and it makes me uncomfortable to think about, and I need to process it, and I need to name it and think about it, so it usually comes out as a song,” Wiancko said.

As Wiancko has continued to develop her career, she’s been able to take more steps as an artist. On March 9, Wiancko was featured on PDX Pop Now’s radio show, “Johnny’s Playlist,” to promote her appearance in Friends of Noise’s fundraiser show on March 20.

“I like to think when change is gradual, or when progress is gradual, I don’t always notice it. But if two years ago, I was told that I would be interviewed on the radio, I would be so ecstatic about it,” Wiancko said. “So I think about it like that. I feel like I’m always doing it for that eight-year-old with a guitar writing songs.”

After high school, Wiancko is looking to continue her music career while studying Music Business with an emphasis in Music Production at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee.

Wiancko is also planning to release new music soon with a more pop-centric feeling. Previously, she leaned more towards the folk-pop genre, but is transitioning towards a brighter, more colorful feeling with her upcoming song “I’ll Never Know You Now.” As a high school student and a working artist, she strives to be more carefree and true to herself.

“I think I do feel a little freer in some ways, and my music is reflecting that. So I think that is kind of my inspiration, just doing what I want to do, because I don’t think I’ve always done that,” Wiancko said. “Listening to myself and doing what I want to be doing, what I want to do, being who I want to be, and not feeling ashamed of it.”

As Wiancko prepares to soon transition her journey as an artist in Nashville, she hopes the music she puts out will connect with more people and encourage them to follow their ambitions.

“In high school especially, people take things really seriously, and the world feels so small, but in the grand scheme of things, we’re just specks on this planet,” Wiancko said. “You should do what you want to do, and you should write the music that you want to write, and you should say what you want to say.”

This story was originally published on wlhsNOW on April 15, 2026.