Oklahoma husband/wife duo, The Imaginaries – Shane Henry and Maggie McClure – recently finished recording their debut album, their first together as The Imaginaries.
It serves as both an introduction to their music together and the beginning of their journey as a band after both singer songwriters have had their own successes as solo artists. Maggie, with her subtly sweet vocals and piano style blends seamlessly with Shane’s blues-rock grit to form their own unique blend of Americana music.
It all began when The Imaginaries traveled to Muscle Shoals, AL for a performance on Grammy-Award winning engineer John Cuniberti’s YouTube series called “The OneMic Series” which showcases recording artists performing two songs each around one AEA R88 stereo ribbon microphone. The duo decided to return to record their album.
They enlisted the help of legendary Muscle Shoals “Swamper,” bassist David Hood (Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Paul Simon), and session musicians such as Little Richard guitarist Kelvin Holly (Jason Isbell, Gregg Allman, Neil Young), bassist Shonna Tucker (Jason Isbell, Drive By Truckers, John Paul White), and keyboardist NC Thurman (Hank Williams Jr, Gregg Allman, Little Richard).
They also flew in drummer Rob Humphreys (Leonard Cohen, Jason Mraz) for the recording and worked with Chad Copelin (Sufjan Stevens, Christina Perri, Ben Rector) back in Oklahoma for keys and additional production as well as keyboardist Dan Walker (Heart).
Their experience in Muscle Shoals left a profound effect on the duo and what came out of those recording sessions were songs filled with effortless harmonies combined with heartfelt lyrics and real-life lessons like “Thinking ‘Bout You,” a sincere acoustic-driven song about missing someone you care about but don’t get to be with because of distance and “Revival,” a spiritual swampy roots song about finding hope and salvation.
It’s “about overcoming challenges. The songs are inspired by personal experiences, our relationship, our struggles, and our journey.”
Maggie McClure
Growing up in Oklahoma, both caught the music bug early and built their solo careers racking up quite a few milestones along the way. Maggie has opened for Sara Bareilles and Walk Off The Earth and has had over 45 original song placements.
Shane moved to Minneapolis at age 19 to work and record with songwriter/producer Kevin Bowe (Etta James, Joe Cocker) and from there his career took off. He’s since played a 30-date B.B. King tour and also toured with Etta James, Buddy Guy, Joe Bonamassa, George Thorogood and the Destroyers, Johnny Winter, Edwin McCain, the Neville Brothers, and Grand Funk Railroad to name a few. He has had song placements on NBC, CBS, Discovery Channel, Hallmark Channel, and the E! Television network, as well as in feature films.Watching the husband and wife duo perform you instantly see the chemistry, the love in their eyes, and the deep commitment they share with each other and to their music.
Their love of performing, writing music, and their faith all make up the glue that keeps them grounded and focused on the dream of turning what they’ve imagined for themselves into the reality of The Imaginaries.