At home on both the stand-up and electric bass, Shari Rae has performed around the world on the road and at sea. Beginning her career in Calgary, Alberta, Shari completed her Jazz Performance diploma at Mt Royal University studying with John Hyde and later furthered her jazz education at St Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia. While in Calgary, Shari had the honour of playing with country singer/songwriter Lindsay Ell, at the time a protégée of Randy Bachman (The Guess Who). Always tempering the discipline of jazz projects with the release of rock n roll bands, she joined up with the Matt Blais Connection to go on to win the first Fuel (now AMP) 90.3 Big Rock Star competition for $200,000. She spent time in the studio with Matt Blais recording under the direction of producer Mark Howard (Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, Lucinda Williams). Her ability to sight-read and be at home in a number of genres was picked up by Princess Cruises and she headed out to sea, playing every night with the Princess Orchestra. Honing her skills as a versatile stage performer at sea led to recognition from Canadian artist Miss Quincy (2011 BCIMA Folk/Traditional recording of the year) and she has played literally hundreds of shows across Canada, the UK, and mainland Europe; logged upwards of 100,000 km in a minivan; and recorded two full-length albums as a member of the all-girl trio Miss Quincy & the Showdown. Her latest project was a two-month tour across Canada with Edmonton based alt-pop band Picture The Ocean.

Shari has also had the pleasure of playing with Juno award winner Jenny Whiteley, Vancouver spoken word artist CR Avery and Austin recording artist Ari Neufeld. Past performance highlights include: MuchMusic’s Disband series (with Calgary pop artist Em), the North Country Fair and the South Country Fair, the Trout Forest Music Festival, and a number of Juno showcases. She has performed on the radio for the CBC and the BBC as well as the London based House of Mercy radio show.