“Basically, I’m a SoundCloud rapper,” Austin Shea introduces himself. “I want to bring some ‘hip’-ness back into the school,” he claims.  “That’s something they say here.  That’s not something they say in Colorado.” Although he is a junior, this year is Shea’s first at South Lakes: he recently moved to Reston from Pueblo, Colorado.

Shea will be playing three of his songs at SLHS’ Homecoming dance on October 6th, and is excited for the opportunity to share his music with South Lakes’ relatively large community of over two thousand.  

Shea writes all of his lyrics, drawing inspiration from real life events in his own life.  “They say that sadness brings out the most emotion, so most of my [lyrics] come from times when I’m sad or when I’m feeling down….  Even though I’ve played for people before, and I’ve had performances in the past, I’m still really bad at showing people my music.  It’s definitely a vulnerability thing.  It’s hard to put your voice out there- not for the internet necessarily, but when you show someone your music and they make a weird face, that hurts a lot more than somebody saying it’s bad on the internet”, he describes.  

Shea’s music encapsulates 2017’s version of teen angst: a constant tension between the desire to express real vulnerability and the perpetual pressure to prove one’s inherent worth through external means.  He offers perspectives on love, loss, and friendship, providing a poignant first person view of contemporary adolescence.  

You can find Austin Shea and his music on SoundCloud as Describer.