Sharon Coates is a prolific singer-songwriter, residing in Upstate New York.
Sharon’s music explores the depth of the world around her, sometimes with a wry sense of humor. She often focuses on topics of social justice & individual empowerment. You’ll also find universal themes such as the passage of time, diversity, social issues and making the best of the challenges of life.
some highlights:
July 2024
Released single: Set The World On Fire
September 2024
Released single: All’s Not Lost
March 2024
Providing music for the Sunlight and Shadows exhibition at the Genesee Valley Council on the Arts
Feb. 2021 American Songwriter: member spotlight
Regarding the inspiration for her song, Mexico, Sharon reflects, “I wrote this song after reading the novel Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. It’s about a group of artists who travel the Great Lakes after a pandemic wipes out most of the world’s population. I was very moved by this book, and thought a lot about where I would go, and what I would do in the aftermath of a pandemic, if I survived. Little did we know what 2020 would bring.”
oct. 2020 proud to join outsider music
Sharon Coates is proud to have been added as an artist to the roster of Outsider Music , a high quality, curated music library.
Dec. 2018 Album Review: None of the above
By Frank DeBlase , Music Critic - City Magazine
There's a bit of a dichotomy going on with Sharon Coates' new and third CD. To reference Monk, it's full of ugly beauty. Coates has a beautiful, almost sorrowful voice, which when paired with her backing band's rugged support, is evenmore soft and lonely. This is especially true on songs like "Radio," in which she laments the vast wasteland that is contemporary radio, and the #MeToo movement salvo "Hey Man." The juxtaposition totally works.
NOV. 2018 ALBUM RELEASE: NONE OF THE ABOVE
“This is what happened when I dusted off my lovely Fender Strat” - Sharon Coates
Dec. 2017 ALBUM REVIEW: "HERE NOW"
By Julia Wolfe, Music Writer, NYS Music
Rochester-based songwriter and vocalist Sharon Coates recently released her second album just in time for winter, entitled here now. This eleven-track jukebox brings a variety of styles to our ears, with a persistent folk and Americana intention, only complimented by her soft vocal timbre.
July 2017 ALBUM REVIEW: "HERE NOW"
By Frank DeBlase, Music Critic - City Magazine
The title, and to a greater degree the words on "A Bullet Ain't Got a Name" — the opening track on Sharon Coates's beautiful new CD, "here now" — caught me unaware right out of the gate. It's been rolling around in my head for the past two days; a good lyric will do that. The song laments the futility in searching for ways to treat each other better. It's as if admitting defeat and accepting that futility is a step in the right direction.
The music on this artist's second album shares the stage with the words; another step in the right direction. Songs like "Got It All" shows a band that respects Coates's material and doesn't steamroll through it — although there is a sharp, dynamic incline the musicians, including trumpeter Dave Chisholm, capably mount in high gear toward the end of the tune. And there are sing along spots, like the tunes "Cathedral" and "What You Gonna Do?"
Coates sings simply and sweetly with no stunts and no drama; the entirety of "here now" earns its respect through everything she does and everything she avoids. "Here now" plays out as an extension of her debut, "Strange World," with the same insight and musical intrigue. It will make you sit up and listen ... more than a few times.
Aug. 2016 ALBUM REVIEW: "Strange World"
By Frank DeBlase, Music Critic - The City Newspaper
Some artistic types have an itch to express what's inside with whatever is their chosen medium. Sharon Coates must have a rash as she requires multiple disciplines: musician, glass artist, landscape artist. Her new CD, "Strange World," is kind of a landscaped affair with its big room and bigger sky feel. Sure, reverb helps to make statements like that valid and literal, but not everyone can paint with sheer emotion and vocal chords. Coates is one of those artists that can.
Coates mixes influences liberally, from rootsy singer-songwriter on the album's opening track, "It Was Me," to the gentle girl group grind of "My Own Tune," as well as pop and garage rock — dig the early Jefferson Airplane edge on the cut "8 Minutes." Lyrically, Coates isn't stuck in the love and love lost lane, instead she opts to initiate a conversation with Darwin. There's an overall pop rock continuity running throughout "Strange World," and the production is sweet thanks to Dave Drago, who recorded the project at his 1809 Studios. This one is a gem.