Adam Shenk

Adam Shenk was barely old enough to weigh in on his career options when destiny determined his calling. After his parents observed their three-year-old singing original songs into a tape recorder, they found ways to encourage his gift. When he was 11, he earned a slot at Princeton, N.J.’s prestigious American Boychoir School. Not a bad initiation for a teen-ager born in Indiana and growing up in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. His education continued at Michigan’s Interlochen Center for the...

Adam Shenk was barely old enough to weigh in on his career options when destiny determined his calling. After his parents observed their three-year-old singing original songs into a tape recorder, they found ways to encourage his gift. When he was 11, he earned a slot at Princeton, N.J.’s prestigious American Boychoir School. Not a bad initiation for a teen-ager born in Indiana and growing up in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. His education continued at Michigan’s Interlochen Center for the Arts, then the Boston Conservatory and Berklee College of Music, where he earned a Bachelor’s in Songwriting. In 2007, Shenk scored an audition for the semi-finals of MTV’s popular “Making the Band 4,” in New York, performing for host P. Diddy. That same year, he served as songwriter, producer and singer for his first EP, the seven-song “If Ya Like This.” In 2010, with roots firmly established in New York, his second album, “Suitcases,” focuses on transition and change. Produced by Ayhan Sahin with music and lyrics by Shenk, the 14-track disc meshes pop and contemporary R&B with old-school soul and shades of jazz. Imagine classic Simply Red infused with the youth and verve of Chris Brown. In addition to performances at New York’s Rockwood Music Hall, Cutting Room, The Bitter End and Bowery Poetry Club, Shenk has headlined a series of live gigs at Pianos.