Sean Cleland is an award-winning songwriter, guitarist, and vocalist based out of Honolulu, Hawaii. Blending together a hooky pop-songwriting aesthetic with the raw emotion of his electric guitar, Sean traverses and synthesizes the passion of rock and blues with the sultry sounds of r&b, jazz, and soul. He is a 3-time Na Hoku Hanohano winner (Hawaii's state-wide equivalent of the Grammy awarded by the Hawaii Academy of Recording Arts) for 'Alternative Album of the Year' (2019, 2021, 2022).
The Honolulu Star-Advertiser describes Sean as an “Innovative singer-songwriter and prolific performer who plays pop, rock, and soul”. Lezlee Kapono writes, “Some artists become the musician that musicians can’t stop talking about. Sean Cleland is one of those artists. Sean has earned a reputation as one of Hawaii’s most compelling live performers. Blending pop, rock, soul, blues, jazz, and R&B into a sound that’s entirely his own, his performances move effortlessly from quiet, introspective moments to soaring guitar work and powerful vocals that command the room. Performing as a one-man looping artist, Sean builds each song live - layer by layer, creating the sound and energy of a full band with nothing more than his voice, guitar, and remarkable musicianship. It’s an experience that’s both technically impressive and deeply personal."
Artists such as John Mayer, Tom Misch, Gary Clark Jr., Hozier, and Ryan Adams may come to mind when listening to Sean's tracks. Although his sound can at times appear uniquely his own, in Sean's songwriting you can hear the impact of the classic rock of the ‘60s and ’70s (Beatles, Stones, Zeppelin, Floyd, Hendrix), alongside the influence of artists like Radiohead, Oasis, Wilco, and Elliott Smith. And throughout his albums and live shows, you can always hear a deep reverence for the blues and jazz traditions, a love of r&b/soul groove-based music, as well as a clearly evident jamband aesthetic indebted to bands like the Grateful Dead, Allman Brothers, Dave Matthews, and Phish.
Sean's last 3 studio albums were engineered by multiple Na Hoku Award-winning and Grammy-nominated producer Imua Garza. In addition to “The Process Of”, “Chroma (vol. 1)”, and “Chroma (vol. 2)” receiving Na Hoku awards for ‘Alternative Album of the Year’, “Chroma (vol. 2)” also received the Na Hoku ‘General Engineering Award’ for 2022. Sean was also a finalist in the 'Male Vocalist of the Year' category in 2022. The singles released along with the albums have been featured on multiple blogs and Spotify playlists, and have received regular airplay on 90.1 FM KTUH college radio, appearing on their NACC charts for multiple weeks. He has also released two music videos for the songs "Salary Man" and "Curl". Sean's albums have been distributed by Island Heritage Music (available in CD format in Target and other stores). Prior to these albums, Sean self-produced three records, “The Winter Room”, "Silence Speaks Louder", and “Wanderlust”.
Sean is a relentless performer, and has played at the 2020 NAMM Show, opened for multiple international acts (Iron & Wine, Houndmouth, Henry Kapono), and performed at world-class venues like Blue Note Hawaii. Since 2010, he has consistently had 3-5 residencies every week at Honolulu hotels and venues with his solo act. He performs over 200 times every year.
Sean currently works with Marmoset and Secret Road, and has had his original music licensed by CoStar Group (Homes.com). He also co-wrote the song “Lost Myself” with SYML, which was released on his 2023 album (with an earlier version of the song being featured on NBC and Freeform). Another song Sean collaborated on, “Where Do We Go From Here?”, was featured on The CW and Apple TV. He is also proud to be an Ethos Guitar FX (Custom Tones, LLC) artist, due to his longtime use of both the Ethos Overdrive and Ethos Clean II preamps.
Sean is also a long-time music instructor and has taught well over 100 private students across 19 years of instruction. He also prides himself on being the current private guitar instructor of a certain high-profile public figure (when vacationing in his second home here in Honolulu).
Sean was born in Hawaii, raised in California, and began playing music at the age of 13. He also has a degree in philosophy and anthropology. After a life-changing trip across Europe and Africa he returned to the islands in 2009 and immediately felt a deep connection to his Hawaiian roots as he began to develop his music career in earnest. He is proud of his Hawaiian, Chinese, Scottish, Irish, and English heritage. Sean currently lives in Honolulu with his wife Chelsea (the owner of the award-winning Rock Candy Hawaii, LLC) and their two cats, Toasty and Oslo. They are both avid travelers. Every part of his history informs his art today.
