Shane McDonald

Shane McDonald - Keyboards / MD

One of the features of a great Queen song is the majestic keyboard parts which feature heavily in their hit songs. Shane McDonald has spent the last 25 years reviewing the works of Queen, specifically interested in learning every piano track from the back catalog.

“I had heard songs like Bohemian Rhapsody, Don’t Stop me Now, Radio Ga Ga, and I want to Break Free when I was younger but I didn’t really know much about Queen. But in 1993 when I heard a track called Procession from the Queen II album, I was hooked. From that point, I knew that the music of Queen resonated with me and that it would be with me forever.” Although Shane had interests in other bands like Def Leppard, Iron Maiden, and Metallica, Queen provided Shane with the outlet to play wonderful piano arrangements. Over many years, Shane took these songs apart and transcribed them. These transcribed songs later appeared on his Queen Website “Shane’s Queen Site” which at this point has been running for over 18 years.

Shane, from Waterford, Ireland, had played piano from a young age & was involved in the music scene locally from the age of 15. In recent years was involved in local bands & theatre, including performances of the Chris D'Arienzo stage show ‘Rock of Ages’ at the local Garter Lane theatre. In 2015, Shane also had the amazing opportunity to perform at the Glastonbury Festival. In 2019 Shane joined a local classic rock band called ‘Custom160’ performing hits from AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Whitesnake, Van Halen, and of course QUEEN. Shane is our Spike Edney!

Shane's favorite Queen songs to play include Don't Stop Me Now, Somebody to Love, Save Me, Play the Game, Seven Seas of Rhye, Bohemian Rhapsody and We are the Champions - obviously, all have huge piano parts which is why these are his piano playing highlights.

Shane is delighted to be taking to the stage as Celebrating Queen keyboardist and Musical Director with Celebrating Queen and the Freddie show in 2023 and beyond.

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