Award-winning blues artist Shawn Hall (The Harpoonist) joins Glen for a candid conversation about reinvention nearly two decades into his career. From gritty breakout moments to recording a vulnerable new solo album in Paris under his own name, Shawn reflects on identity, creative risk, and stripping his music down to its emotional core. It’s a deep dive into growth, longevity, and what happens when you step outside your comfort zone to rediscover your voice.

ep34 Shawn Hall The Harpoonist 
released February 26, 2026 
2:02:53

Key Topics Discussed

• Working with producer Renaud Letang in Paris and embracing creative vulnerability
• Taking creative risks later in a career, not just at the beginning
• Approaching harmonica as rhythmic punctuation rather than solo virtuoso playing
• Recording the iconic sweaty Regina show with broken gear - blowing harmonica straight through the vocal mic
• Influences: Brownie McGee, Paul Reddick, Parliament/Funkadelic approach to harmonica

"I wanted to be an outsider again."

Guest website: https://theharpoonist.bandcamp.com/track/good-people
Guest Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_harpoonist/
Guest Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@theharpoonistshawn

hosts: Glen Erickson, Alexi Erickson
Almost Famous Enough website: https://www.almostfamousenough.com
AFE instagram: https://www.instagram.com/almostfamousenough
Almost Famous Enough Spotify playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1o1PRD2X0i3Otmpn8vi2zP?si=1ece497360564480

Almost Famous Enough is a series of conversations centered around the music industry, pulling back the veil on what it really means to “make it”. Our podcast features guests who know the grind, who have lived the dream, or at the very least, chased the dream. Through these conversational biographies, truth and vulnerability provide more than a topical roadmap or compile some career advice; they can appeal to the dreamer in us all, with stories that can teach us, inspire us, and even reconcile us, and make us feel like we made a new friend along the way.

Chapters 

00:00 Introduction
03:11 Island Life Talk
12:35 Paris Reset Record
27:10 Vulnerability In Studio
41:55 Origins Of The Harpoonist
46:34 Trailblazing Blues Identity
49:00 Banter Versus Gatekeeping
53:16 BreakOut West Buzz
01:06:31 Duo Mechanics Trance
01:11:06 Harmonica Style And Gear
01:27:00 Solo Records And Longevity
01:29:58 New Songs Not Nostalgia
01:33:16 A Regina Memory
01:35:32 Winter Wrap Up
01:37:29 Post-Fame with Alexi