Musicians You’re Not Listening To, But You Should Be: The Sheytoons

Well, this one is a bit of a tricky one. Unfortunately, the Sheytoons have yet to release an album. (I know... I’m going very underground this time).  The quick intro... The Sheytoons are called an ‘indie folk’ band by sources in the know on the inter webs. The group is fronted by musical theater superstars Ramin Karimloo and Hadley Fraser. Between the two of them, they have played almost every male role in Les Miserables and The Phantom of the Opera. While I haven’t been able to show it much in this blog (yet... insert evil cackle), I’m also a shameless theater nerd. While I have no acting or singing talent to speak of, I’m a sucker for a performer who can belt out a song... but I digress... back to the topic at hand. 

My discovery of The Sheytoons happened back in 2010 when Karimloo and Fraser both appeared in the 25th Anniversary cast of Les Miserables as Enjolras and Grantaire respectively. They were then quickly cast as the Phantom and Raoul in the 25th Anniversary cast of The Phantom of the Opera (how can I forget the crazily talented Sierra Boggess as Christine). A quick Google, and a YouTube later... and voila! (I say that a lot lately....). The Sheytoons appear to have been formed primarily as a labor of love, which unfortunately keeps getting pushed to the metaphorical back-burner by their members' constant (and grueling) musical theater schedules.

(Clip: Hadley Fraser singing: Again. Part of his solo repertoire).

In 2015, Karimloo wrapped a lengthy run in Les Miserables on Broadway, and has been continually appearing on stage, as well as on television (there’s reportedly a Blue Blood’s appearance I need to find now). Meanwhile, Fraser has been working steadily in London’s West End, easily making the dizzying jump between Shakespeare to musicals with seeming ease. Readers of this blog may be familiar with Tom Hiddleston’s version of Coriolanus? Fraser is featured in the cast as Aufidius. He has also been poking his toe into the film world, with recent (though bit) parts in the film version of Les Miserables as well as the upcoming Legend of Tarzan.

(Clip: Ramin Karimloo singing ‘The Music of the Night’ from The Phantom of the Opera).

Precious little exists in recorded form as it relates to The Sheytoons. There’s a handful of YouTube clips, and Karimloo has covered some of the material in his solo albums. Broken (video included above) is probably my favorite song, and it demonstrates the unique and innovative sound of the group’s music (I love the use of the banjo). All their available work has a very sound, and interesting acoustic structure, and thanks to their musical theater backgrounds, the vocals are flawless. Whether you are an indie or folk music fan, and would check out what exists from the Sheytoons, or are simply a musical theater nut, you should be familiar with Hadley Fraser and Ramin Karimloo. They are two of the most talented performers working on Broadway and the West End right now. (Thanks to all the users who uploaded the YouTube clips above... click on the videos and check out their pages).