Shelby Means’ New Solo Album

Shelby Means had nothing to prove to anyone but herself when she set out to record her first solo self-titled album. Her bluegrass credentials are solid. In fact, bluegrass brought her to Nashville in the first place. A native of Wyoming, she grew up going to festivals and played in the Alaska bluegrass band Bearfoot at the end of her college journey. Odessa, a member of the band, moved to Nashville and was looking for a roommate. Means only knew two people in town, but the rent was reasonable and that seemed like a good place to start. “I wanted to be surrounded by other musicians that were better than me and to get better at playing music,” she said. Building her bluegrass resumé, Means had a good run playing bass with the all-female band Della Mae from 2012 to 2015, after which she started performing with husband Joel Timmons as the duo Sally and George. “We were touring a lot when the pandemic hit,” said Means, “and everything stopped. We were scratching our heads