GREENVILLE — This winter, local band Shannon Clark & the Sugar partnered with international award winning filmmaker Shawn Spitler to film a music video for their latest song, “Carry Me,” written by lead singer Shannon Clark. The music video was shot over a three-day span in and around Darke County. Key scenes were shot at the local bar, The Triangle, as well as Hunt’s Butcher Shop.
Shannon Clark & the Sugar is a local, family-oriented Darke County folk band that makes music for all ages. The primary members of the band are Shannon Clark, and his wife and daughter Brittany and Navie. “The Sugar,” Clark told The Daily Advocate, refers to a number of non-permanent members that occasionally play with the band.
Both Shannon and his wife Brittany are Darke County natives, having lived a majority of their adult lives in the Darke County area. The couple met some years ago through the music industry and have since performed a number of concerts across the U.S. Shannon and Brittany have shared their love of music with their daughter, Navie, who, alongside her mom and dad, writes and produces songs for the band.
In reference to the new music video and song, Clark said, “…the song was very personal for our family and when I got the call to work with Shawn [Spitler] it was a no-brainer that we wanted to make this happen in our hometown. The song is about coming home and it just made sense,” noted Clark, adding, “…the crew we had was amazing, we had so many wonderful people including local cinematographer Olga Wagner and Frank Steele, as well as actress Oakley Boycott from New York City.”
The video has received national recognition, including its acceptance to over eight film festivals — the Albuquerque short film festival, The Red Rock Film Festival, The Southeastern International Music & Film Festival, the Mosaic International Film Festival. The video also received a nomination for the best music video of the year award at the Oregon Short Film Festival and first place for best music video at The Peak City International Film Festival and the Hollywood Independent Film Festival.
The video was officially released on Jan. 14, 2021. The band is currently ramping up a spring release for their new album produced by Grammy award winning producer Mark Howard, who has worked with artists such as Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Neil Young, U2 and Emmy Lou Harris, among other popular names.
For more info on how to help or general inquires visit www.shannonclarksugar.com as well as check out the group’s Kickstarter to support the project. The group can also be found on Facebook by searching the band name.
