The story
About Shawnda
Shawnda Rains has toured as a professional entertainer for over 35 years and owns Shawnda Rains Studios in Denison, Texas. She is a highly respected and sought after vocal coach, artist development expert, show producer, entertainer, and actress. She has been working with singers, songwriters, pageant contestants, models, musicians, and actors for over 22 years.
Shawnda has successfully developed, mentored, promoted, and coached artists who have gone on to successful careers in Nashville, Branson, Los Angeles, and as finalists on hit shows such as: America’s Got Talent, American Idol and NBC’s The Voice. Carrie Underwood, Baylie Brown (The Singing Bee & Universal South), Kacey Musgraves, Matt Jenkins (Universal South Recording Artist & Fox Network’s Nashville) David Griffin (Clay Cooper Theater and Showboat Branson Belle, Branson), Holly Tucker (NBC’s The Voice), Kadie Lynn (AGT), Billie Jo (Real Country – TV Series), Chris Colston (Texas/Red Dirt Artist Singer-Songwriter), and Kolby Cooper (Texas/Red Dirt Singer- Songwriter) are just a few of the artists Shawnda has worked with and promoted through her performance studio and live show. She thrives on discovering and developing new artists and pioneered “Small Town Big Talent” a program that goes into small cities searching for undiscovered talent.
Born in Irving, Texas and raised in Bennington, a small town in Southeastern Oklahoma, she entered and won a school talent show at the age of nine. It was quickly determined that she had a rare musical talent. With the support of her family, she began traveling every weekend to Opry’s and Festivals in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Nashville, earning a reputation as the “little girl with the big voice”, opening for country legends such as: Moe Bandy, Kitty Wells, Hank Thompson, John Anderson and more. Shawnda has enjoyed much solo success since that talent contest at the age of 9, earning numerous awards and accolades, plus legendary duet partners like Linda Davis, Steve Holy, and recently recording a duet with Country legend David Frizzell at Hilltop Recording Studio, Nashville’s oldest running recording studio.
After graduating from Southeastern Oklahoma State University with a BA in Education, Theatre Arts and Speech, she began teaching Theatre in Terrell, Texas, producing plays and performing in community theatre productions. At the age of 28, Shawnda purchased the Rialto Theatre, a historic theatre built in 1920 in Denison, TX. She hired the best studio musicians in Dallas, Texas and began producing a musical variety show, the “Main Street Showcase,” enjoying a successful year round, 12 year run. The show featured performances in all genres of music by the phenomenal regular cast, smokin’ hot house band, and special guest entertainers from all over the United States. During that time, Shawnda also produced “Hot Summer Nights” Summer Concert Series in Sherman, Texas and booked headlining artists from all over the United States to crowds in excess of 4,000.
Currently, her company, Shawnda Rains Entertainment Group, produces the “Red River Opry”. The show features and promotes up and coming artists, her regular cast, and the Red River Opry Band. The company also manages her corporate band “Full Agenda”, a variety dance band well known in the DFW Metroplex. Full Agenda performs at festivals, private parties, and corporate events for an extensive client list including Conoco Oil, Glass Cactus, Eddie Dean’s Ranch, Southfork Ranch, Studios at Las Colinas, Arlington Music Hall, Winstar Casinos, Choctaw Resort & Casinos, Perot Systems, Eldorado Resort & Casinos – Shreveport, and Lone Star Park, just to name a few.
In 2010, Shawnda’s band was named the official band of the “Texas Country Music Hall of Fame” in Carthage, Texas by founder Tommie Ritter Smith. The Texas Country Music Hall of Fame Band backs legendary artists including Neal McCoy, Oak Ridge Boys, Tanya Tucker, Johnny Rodriquez, Tracy Byrd, Collin Raye, The Bellamy Brothers, David Frizzell, Billy Dean, Janie Fricke, Shelly West, John Conlee, Johnny Lee, Jeannie Seely, Mickey Gilley, Gene Watson, Mark Wills, Billy Dean, Barbara Fairchild, TG Sheppard, T Graham Brown, Ronnie McDowell, Joe Stampley, Jim Ed Brown, Helen Cornelius, and many more. Shawnda, and her husband singer and acoustic player Charlie Shearer, are the Music Directors for Texas Country Music Hall of Fame, producing all the music and backing all artists for the John Ritter Tribute Showcase, Classic Country Music Weekend and Annual Texas Country Music Hall of Fame Induction Show. Shawnda, Charlie, and the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame Band currently tour the country with country music icon TG Sheppard.
Shawnda Rains Studios is home to the performance troupe StageStruck, providing entertainment at festivals, shows, and venues, often seen at Fair Park in Dallas, CMA Fest, Country Music Hall of Fame the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, TN, Graceland in Memphis, TN, Clay Cooper Theater, Dick Clark’s American Bandstand Theater, Starlight Theater in Branson, MO, Country Tonight Theater in Pigeon Forge, TN, and Six Flags over Texas. The studio provides training to artists in the areas of vocal performance, guitar, piano, ukulele, recording/production, stage presence, and artist development.
Shawnda works with artists in most genres of commercial styles, but her talents as a vocal stylist specializes in Country, Christian, Musical Theatre, Rock, and Pop. She works to transform the artists’ voice and career by teaching vocal techniques to develop their signature sound, demonstrating how to sing with power and style, giving them the tools to build their brand, and the strategy to propel their career.
