I consider myself as a singer first, but something that really helped me come into my own is that there's not a separation between me singing and me playing the guitar. The two fed off the other.

In 1993 Shawn Colvin moved back to the city of Austin and in 1994 released the album Cover Girl a collection of cover songs. The song "I Don't Know Why" was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Female Pop Vocal category. She learned to play guitar at the age of 10 and grew up listening to her father's collection of music which included artists such as Peter Seeger and the Kingston Trio.