Joy Shannon is an Irish harpist and vocalist whose 2025 album, In the Forest Singing Sorrowless, is a dreamy, emotional tribute to Tolkien featuring Shannon’s original music as well as vocals from Tolkien’s great-granddaughter Ruth. Below, we ask Shannon more about the album’s creation.
Enchanted Living: So why an album of Tolkien-inspired music? How did this come about?
Joy Shannon: Over the years I’d written songs inspired by Tolkien, and these songs were spread throughout about 10 years of music. I decided last year that it would be fun to put all of these songs on one album and record some additional songs inspired by Tolkien. The main inspiration for the project was that I had a breast-cancer diagnosis in 2025, and
I wanted to stay positive throughout the year of treatment. The work of Tolkien has been an inspiration to me since I was a teenager, reminding me to stay positive even during the dark parts of my journey. Writing and recording these songs, and re-recording some older songs from my catalog, was a very fulfilling and inspiring way to stay positive during a difficult year. I also recorded this album with lots of dear friends of mine, including Ruth Tolkien, Maria Franz from Heilung, Christopher Brown from Osi, and the Jupiter and Leila Abdul-Rauf, so it helped me stay connected to kind friends. The music helped me very much through the treatments, and I’ve now had several tests saying that I’m cancer-free.
EL: What does Tolkien mean to you? What is it that draws you to his worlds?
JS: The Lord of the Rings was the first book that truly riveted me as a young person. His world and all its details fascinated me, and ultimately inspired me to delve more deeply into Irish and Norse mythology. Much of the music and visual art I make now, both as an illustrator and tattoo artist, is inspired by historic Celtic and Nordic mythology and art, and I can credit Tolkien with exposing me to those ideas first.
EL: Can you talk about your collaboration with Ruth Tolkien?
JS: I met Ruth Tolkien when I worked as a tattoo artist at a shop in Wales, called Sacred Knot, where she was being tattooed. She had gotten work done by two of my dear friends: Sean Parry of Sacred Knot and Kai Uwe Faust of the Nordic band Heilung. So I met her through those dear friends, and we got on so well. She is just the kindest and most talented soul. She has a beautiful voice and plays the guitar like an angel—or perhaps an elf!
I played her my song “Grey Havens” when I met her and it made her cry—in a good way. Because she enjoyed my songs when I played them for her in person, I asked her to sing with me on the recordings. I didn’t know if she would accept, but when she said yes, I was so incredibly elated. It truly was a dream to collaborate with her on such a meaningful song as “Grey Havens,” which is about saying goodbye to loved ones in the other world.
EL: Can you talk about the elven songs you’ve written? What is so compelling about these creatures? JS: The two songs on the album that are inspired by elves are “Grey Havens” and “Beren and Lúthien.” “Grey Havens” is my version of “Galadriel’s Song” from The Lord of the Rings. It speaks of the elvish afterlife across the sea in the west and about mourning loved ones on the other side. The poem touched my heart deeply, as it showed me something so universal across time and cultures—and even among elves—that we all deal with: loss. So I wanted to create a song that honored those journeys of our loved ones onto their next adventures.
In “Beren and Lúthien” I tell Tolkien’s story of man and elf who fall in love in a forest. Tolkien’s words are so beautiful and romantic, I wanted to show how love can be a haven from the harshness of this world. The name of the album, In the Forest Singing Sorrowless, comes from a line in that poem, and it encapsulates what love, beauty, nature, and, indeed, the worlds of Tolkien, can create for us: a haven from the sorrows of this world.
EL: Now that this album is complete, what’s next for you?
JS: I’m writing and recording my next album at the moment, but it’s inspired by Irish mythology rather than Tolkien, though I may revisit more Tolkien-inspired songs in the future. Right now I’m playing shows, writing new music, recording, and working on the soundtrack for a documentary.
EL: And, finally, where can readers go to find more?
JS: Thank you for that! Our music is everywhere you stream under my name Joy Shannon, my website is joyshannon.com, and my Instagram is @joyshannon.