Amanda Christian Amaya-Shaw (born August 2, 1990) is an American

Cajun The Cajuns (; French: ''les Cadjins'' or ''les Cadiens'' ), also known as Louisiana ''Acadians'' (French: ''les Acadiens''), are a Louisiana French ethnicity mainly found in the U.S. state of Louisiana. While Cajuns are usually described as ...

fiddler, singer, and actress from

Mandeville, Louisiana Mandeville is a city in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, United States. Its population was 11,560 at the 2010 U.S. census, and 13,192 at the 2020 United States census. Mandeville is located on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain, south of Interst ...

. She was inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame in 2020.

Musical training

Shaw received some of her early musical training in

Southeastern Louisiana University Southeastern Louisiana University (Southeastern) is a public university in Hammond, Louisiana. It was founded in 1925 by Linus A. Sims as Hammond Junior College. Sims succeeded in getting the campus moved to north Hammond in 1928, when it became ...

's Community Music School. She studied classical violin starting at age 4, and at 8 began playing and performing Cajun music. Shaw would have graduated from Mount Carmel Academy in New Orleans in 2008 but she opted instead to continue traveling around the country to perform. Shaw earned her

G.E.D. The General Educational Development (GED) tests are a group of four subject tests which, when passed, provide certification that the test taker has United States or Canadian high school-level academic skills. It is an alternative to the US high ...

in 2008 and planned to attend

Tulane University Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into a comprehensive pu ...

but did not enroll.

Performances

Shaw and her band, The Cute Guys, regularly perform to audiences around the world. They have toured North America, South America, and Europe. Amanda Shaw & the Cute Guys are a staple at the

New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (commonly called Jazz Fest or Jazzfest) is an annual celebration of local music and culture held at the Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana. Jazz Fest attracts thousands of vi ...

, performing annually. Shaw was a featured New Orleans performer on

Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve ''Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve'' (''NYRE'') is an annual New Year's Eve television special broadcast by ABC. The special broadcasts primarily from New York City's Times Square and prominently features coverage of its annual ball drop ev ...

in 2020 as well as on CNN's New Year's Eve with Don Lemon in 2018, 2019, and 2021. Amandashaw

Recordings and videos

Shaw has recorded two independently released albums, ''Little Black Dog'' (2001) and ''I'm Not a Bubble Gum Pop Princess'' (2004) – the latter including traditional Cajun melodies as well as eclectic choices like

The Clash The Clash were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave music, new wave moveme ...

's " Should I Stay or Should I Go" and

The Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United ...

' "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend" (changed to "Girlfriend"). In 2006 Shaw signed with

Rounder Records Rounder Records is an independent record label founded in 1970 in Somerville, Massachusetts by Marian Leighton Levy, Ken Irwin, and Bill Nowlin. Focused on American roots music, Rounder's catalogue of more than 3000 titles includes records by Al ...

. Two years later she released her third album ''

Pretty Runs Out ''Pretty Runs Out'' is the third album from New Orleans singer and fiddler Amanda Shaw. It is the first album Shaw has recorded after being signed to the major label Rounder Records. Track listing #"Pretty Runs Out" (3:29) #"Chirmolito" (3:11) ...

'' on Rounder. Shaw has appeared in two Disney Channel original movies filmed in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Stuck in the Suburbs ''Stuck in the Suburbs'' is a Disney Channel Original Movie. It was released on July 16, 2004, and stars Danielle Panabaker as Brittany Aarons and Brenda Song as Natasha Kwon-Schwartz. Brittany, a regular middle school student in the suburbs, acc ...

'' (2004) and ''Now You See It...'' (2005). One of her best-known screen roles is as a principal narrator in ''

Hurricane on the Bayou ''Hurricane on the Bayou'' is an American 2006 documentary film that focuses on the wetlands of Louisiana before and after Hurricane Katrina. ''Hurricane on the Bayou'' is both a documentary of Hurricane Katrina's effects and a call to restore ...

'' (2006), a documentary about Hurricane Katrina and the erosion of Louisiana's

wetlands A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free ( anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

. Her music is featured in ''Hurricane'' along with that of co-narrator

Tab Benoit Tab Benoit (born November 17, 1967) is an American blues guitarist, musician, and singer. His playing combines a number of blues styles, primarily Delta blues. He plays a stock 1972 Fender Telecaster Thinline electric guitar and writes his ow ...

and New Orleans native

Allen Toussaint Allen Richard Toussaint (; January 14, 1938 – November 10, 2015) was an American musician, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was an influential figure in New Orleans rhythm and blues from the 1950s to the end of the century, describ ...

. She also hosted the annual The Amanda Shaw Cajun Christmas Special on

WGNO WGNO (channel 26) is a television station in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, affiliated with ABC. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside CW owned-and-operated station WNOL-TV (channel 38). Both stations share studios at The Gal ...

from 2017-2021.

Discography

*''Little Black Dog'' (2001) *''I'm Not a Bubble Gum Pop Princess'' (2004) *''

'' (2008) *''

Good Southern Girl Good Southern Girl is the fourth album from American Cajun singer and fiddler Amanda Shaw. It is Shaw's first release with her new label, Poorman Mayfield Music, which is co-founded by New Orleans Jazz great Irvin Mayfield Irvin Mayfield Jr ...

'' (2010) *''Please, Call Me Miss Shaw'' (2018) *''Joie'' (2020)

References

Other source

* Judy Bergeron, ''Magic fills movie shot in N.O.; Covington teen says Disney gig's "really cool"'', '' Baton Rouge Advocate'', January 14, 2005

External links

Official site
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Shaw, Amanda 1990 births Living people American child actresses American child singers American fiddlers Cajun fiddlers Musicians from New Orleans People from Covington, Louisiana Rounder Records artists Southeastern Louisiana University alumni Singers from Louisiana People from Mandeville, Louisiana 21st-century American singers 21st-century American violinists 21st-century American women