SHAGG is neo-soul meets rock, with a natural sound that evokes classic funk and R&B, along with jazz and worldbeat music.

Like many bands, SHAGG's story started humbly with apartment rehearsals, in their case in Brooklyn, NYC, where the band wrote a dozen tunes. But the band's credibility took a huge leap forward when two of the five songs from their debut EP were named finalists in the John Lennon Songwriting Contest.

Starpolish critic Joe McCombs called their tune "Shade of Melancholy" "one of the best songs I've heard this year, by artists large or small. It's the track Ben Harper has waited his whole career to make, and by the end of its smoggy-jazz exaltations that 'everything's gonna be all right,' you're guaranteed to believe it regardless of your mood."

SHAGG was selected by the editors of CMJ to compete for the 2003 Coca-Cola New Music Award. The band is currently mixing their first full-length album, which will feature both JLSC finalists plus 10 more songs.