Sean Harrison was a musician before he became a journalist, and he kept writing songs while earning his living with other kinds of sentences. The Fayetteville singer-songwriter joins his friend and occasional songwriting collaborator Philip Martin for this episode of “Sessions.”
Born in Nashville and raised mostly in Fayetteville, Harrison grew up in the literary household of his father, novelist and screenwriter William Harrison, whose work became the film “Rollerball.” Sean’s own education took him through bands, European street performances and Texas before he returned to Arkansas to study journalism. He worked for the Arkansas Gazette and later covered the state Capitol for Donrey, carrying a songwriter’s ambitions through a working writer’s life.
His debut album, “Halfway From Nashville,” arrived in 2020. Its successor, “Ghastly Love (And Other Dubious Tales),” brings together sly humor, affection and an interest in people whose plans don’t always survive contact with their lives. The record features contributions from Earl Cate and Gurf Morlix, along with “Black Beer,” a collaboration with Martin.
Harrison also hosts “Songwright — Dickson St.,” a Wednesday afternoon residency at Roger’s Rec in Fayetteville devoted to original songwriting. The ongoing series gives songwriters a place to share their work and listeners a regular occasion to hear the people making music in their community.
Harrison’s winding career offers an occasion to consider how songs get made, what a reporter learns to hear and what happens when a long-deferred ambition becomes the work at hand.
Find Harrison’s music and performance information at seanharrisonsongs.com.
“Sessions” is the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s podcast featuring conversations about books, music, art and the people who make them.