Today we’d like to introduce you to Macy Shaw.
Hi Macy, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
We grew up in a small mountain town in Oakhurst, California. There were 10 siblings; 5 boys, and 5 girls (yes, all from the same mom and dad). We were all homeschooled, as well, and our parents made sure we were involved in public speaking, sports, and yes, music.
At age 4, our parents started us all on violin lessons and we naturally started singing together, too. We were raised to be each other’s best friends. That solid foundation would come into play years down the road as our band grew. When you have that many siblings playing in one home and you’re all homeschooled and there is no TV in the house you are definitely going to start playing together and that’s exactly what we did.
We then started singing for Grandma, and for the neighbors, and then retirement homes, and then restaurants, then local Churches, and so on. Everything was local and we had easy fun audiences. We also started attending other shows by family bands and were inspired to become an official band ourselves. Granted, at this point we didn’t know what that meant!
We started performing outside CA, where we were born and raised, and toured in multiple states through self-booking. I remember the first time I called a Church to book it and they actually picked up the phone on the other end, well that was a first! I’d only experienced answering machines up till this point and the pastor on the other end of the phone asked what dates we were coming through.
I couldn’t believe I didn’t even think of that! I learned so much during that time about sales, communication, and more. I think it’s so important to step outside of your comfort zone and try big things if you have big dreams. Cold calling for a brand new band at 17 would be a good way to start!
As we started to cross over from a fun summertime passion to a full-size career, we started experiencing growing pains in all aspects. Our first cross country music tour was in 2017 and it was a semi disaster! We didn’t know anything about anything, all we knew is that we loved to perform and felt God leading us this way. One of those Churches on our tour route forgot we were coming (I didn’t know anything about contracts at this point, let alone a confirmation email). The Church was gracious enough to let us perform for their youth group that was happening that night.
But we ran into a few of those situations. We also felt the growing pains within our family, learning how to navigate from being just siblings to touring bandmates. It was quite the tour! Everyone loved performing. No one liked the rehearsals. Most conflicts arose during rehearsal time. Through the years, though, we’ve definitely learned how to work together as well as play together. We’ve had a lot of tears, prayers, and asking for forgiveness.
When we got home from that first cross country tour no one was really jazzed about hitting the road again, but we did love performing and doing music, so we rented out a studio and self-recorded our third album. We all loved performing and considered going on AGT but didn’t feel at peace about auditioning. The day before we were supposed to head to Los Angeles, CA to audition we canceled our plans.
As the Summer started approaching again (our normal time to tour because of Dad’s teaching schedule) We wanted to go out again but do it the right way this time, and have everyone enjoy it. We went back to our roots and focused on the essential thing – serving others. We wanted to point people to God and have the message and mission be bigger than ourselves, and not about us. We changed our band name to “Citizens of Glory”.
In 2018, we went out on another 6-week multi-state tour. During this tour, we spent 2 weeks in TN, one week solely in Nashville, and caught a glimpse of a potentially bigger vision for what direction we wanted to go. When we came back home, we realized we had redeemed our tour life. Everyone had a great time! And at the same time, everyone felt an internal peace about moving to Nashville.
So in the Summer of 2019, we sold our home and 3/4 of all our belongings and headed to Nashville, TN without looking back. We didn’t know a soul there, we were simply going by faith where we felt God was leading us. We didn’t know exactly what we were going to do once we got here.
We simply just sold our stuff and left for tour with no set place on the other end. All 11 of us were living out of that RV for 6 weeks while we searched for a home out here. We bounced between Walmarts and grocery store parking lots and campgrounds while we were trying to find a home (and this was not the only time we would be experiencing homelessness!) It wasn’t easy looking for a place that would accommodate all of us.
And we had to pull up in an RV to see every option. People would have to help turn us around to get out of the smaller neighborhoods. As soon as we could, we immersed in and made connections, and started to define our mission. Our first 6 months here were fun, it totally felt like we were on a vacation, we started visiting churches and events and getting settled in.
2020 threw us a huge loop like it did everyone else. We found ourselves looking at a different world with new challenges. Looking back, I am thankful for the time to reflect and focus on our goals, purpose, mission, and genre even more. We made new strong connections during that season as people generously gave their time to help us through advice, encouragement, and direction. In 2021, we refined our genre even more and did a complete rebrand. Our family togetherness has been a big part of our band’s attraction.
No matter what our band name was, people referred to us as the Shaw Family. We changed from Citizens of Glory to SHAW and released our first single and music video under the new name. It’s been an amazing journey to be on and I am so thankful for everything that we’ve been through together as a band and family. We love coming to the band room with new song ideas, arrangements, and cool elements to add to our live shows, we love rehearsing and doing music together. We most of all love the people out on the road.
Meeting them, hearing their stories, and making new friends have all been amazing. Our goal is to continue impacting hearts with our music, and really make a difference in people’s lives. We want to spread the gospel of Jesus and give our fans and future fans, music, and entertainment that inspires encourages, and lifts them higher.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Some of our obstacles have been figuring out how to work through being siblings AND bandmates.
There were also. transitions when our parents became less and less involved the older the siblings got. There is always a transition too of boundaries and knowing how to work tougher as well as together.
- Knowing who was going to lead or have the final say.
- Communicating critiques.
- Mishaps on stage and on the road.
And then finding housing since moving to Nashville has been a real struggle. We were homeless twice (living out of an RV) and have had quite a time as well figuring out different ages, seasons, and relationships in having a family band.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
We are a 6 sibling band and we write, record, and perform Christian Contemporary music. We are known for the fact that we are an all sibling band, and for our online videos which have reached over 400K views.
What sets us apart from other bands is the fact that we are a family and do this together and in spite of many obstacles and challenges that have been thrown our way, we have come out stronger AND still love each other!
People have always commented on the fact that the younger ages in our family have such confidence and stage presence for being so young.
How can people work with you, collaborate with you, or support you?
People can follow us on our Instagram page @citizensofglory (Instagram hasn’t let us change our username yet).
Or they can become a sponsor here: www.generosityrocks.com/shaw
Come out and see us on the road! We tour throughout the year and you can follow us on Bandsintown.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.theshawband.com
- Instagram: @theshawband
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3iCYo_pNGGJIVHDjovM70Q
Image Credits
Danny Valdez and Jeff Carpenter
