One of Ireland’s finest and best-loved multi-instrumentalists and composers, Sharon Shannon, is set to release a comprehensive 30-year career-spanning box set, arriving October 27.

The collection - titled Now & Then - will encompass Shannon's distinctive role in the history of Irish music, however, the release will also bringing forth new music. Making up the current part of the box set, the musician has recorded a new album titled Now. This new LP will release as part of the box set.

A gifted artist with a string of best-selling albums and concert tours behind her, Sharon has also enjoyed a diverse range of successful collaborations with musical legends, including: The Waterboys, Christy Moore, Sinéad O’Connor, Kirsty MacColl, U2’s Adam Clayton, Jackson Browne, Steve Earle, John Prine, Liam ÓMaonlaí, Dónal Lunny, Imelda May, Shane MacGowan, reggae dub poet Linton Kwesi Johnson, and many others. Many of these collaborations will feature on the mammoth collection.

Sharon Shannon - Grouse Lodge Westmeath 2003

Speaking about the release, Sharon commented: “I absolutely love being in the recording studio making new albums. I just love hearing brand new music coming to life, and it's one of the things that l love doing most in my life, and I hope to keep doing it for many more years to come.

"Putting together this box set was a mammoth task. It started off with the recording of a brand new album, which is called Now!. I'm really, really proud of it, and I can't wait for people to hear it. Apart from the new album, I hadn't heard any of the rest of the albums for years and years, so I enjoyed listening to them all again, and of course, each one brought up lots of great memories of recording and touring the various albums with various different band line ups."

As well as a musical collection, the box set will include a book of photographs spanning the same length of time.

Sharon Shannon - Whelans Dublin 1991

"The book of photographs was also a great and very, very long trip down memory lane," the musician laughed. "With help from my friend Daithi Turner, I traipsed through over 36,000 digital photos, plus multiple boxes and bin bags full of physical photos that I have at my home in Galway and my family have at home in County Clare.

"I can't wait to see the final production, and I'm really excited about it.”

The stunning collection of Sharon's work includes a 7" vinyl version of 'The Galway Girl' featuring Mundy, which has been remixed by rising DJ/producer Jen Payne just as the original surpasses 20 million Spotify streams.

The set also features 12 of Sharon's studio albums on reformatted digisleeve CDs, a career journey coffee table photobook over 100 pages, Sharon's renowned debut LP with remastered audio on bespoke coloured vinyl, and finally, a brand new album called Now! (also on coloured vinyl), including a recent collaboration with The Scratch.

A strictly limited edition signed run of vinyls are available on a first-come, first-served basis.The box set and this signed limited edition version can now be pre-ordered exclusively from CelticNote.com.