Singer-songwriter Shannon McArthur, of Nashville’s the Riflery, considers Tom Petty and Third Eye Blind to be among his influences. His band also evokes Jack’s Mannequin, Augustana, The Script and Jimmy Eat World. McArthur, now 28-years-old, has been in the music industry for several years. It was sheer serendipity, though, that brought him to fellow band member Sam Bowler two years ago in San Francisco. Together with Jordan Fitzsimmons, Jonny Riggs and Shanan Lau, they formed the Riflery.

Their upcoming EP includes “Getting There”, a powerful rock and roll track referencing McArthur’s struggles with faith. Instead of letting the struggle dominate and confuse him, McArthur instead decided to turn it into something beautiful. “That song is very largely about a struggle with God that I’ve experienced since my time in Nashville,” he has said. “I wrote it with a good friend, Krista Angelucci. We were initially trying to write a song for her album, and then “Getting There” just kinda fell out into the artistic atmosphere.”

The Riflery’s debut, four-song EP, Falcon, will be out soon. For more info on upcoming tour dates (Jan 7th – The Vinyl – Atlanta, GA, Jan 9th – The Pour House- Raleigh, NC, Jan 13th – Pianos – New York, NY), visit the band’s website.