SINGER-songwriter Sarah McQuaid is back in Dorset, performing at Bridport Town Hall on Friday 10th April, as part of a lengthy tour, which features songs from the new album which she will be recording at the studio at her home in the far west of Cornwall.

“Settle down, and I’ll try to make a soothing sound,” Sarah McQuaid sings on the opening number of her current concert set. And so she does, starting off a cappella, then layering acoustic and electric guitars, floor tom drum, keyboards and lush vocal harmonies, using looping technology to create a gentle, organic progression.

The set mainly features Sarah’s original compositions, spanning a wide range of styles from contemplative ballads to playful blues to atmospheric instrumentals, but she also includes folk songs, evergreen classics and even a few contemporary covers. As well as the beautiful songs, Sarah’s show is enhanced by spectacular lighting effects created by Martin Stansbury, her manager and sound engineer.

Born in Spain, raised in Chicago and now living in Cornwall, after many years in Ireland, Sarah is as multinational as she is multitalented. The local dates are part of a marathon 67-venue tour throughout the UK, including Wales and the Scottish Highlands, and Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands.

She will also be working hard on her new album. She says: “I’m so incredibly grateful to all the crowdfunding contributors who helped to make the studio possible. There’s no way I could be performing some of the new material live in concert without having had the space to rehearse it in.”

Sarah will also be at Caryford Community Hall at Castle Cary on Sunday 12th April and has further dates in early summer, on 5th June at Crediton Arts Centre, 12th June at Holy Trinity Church at Westward Ho!, 19th June at Parracombe Village Hall, and 2nd July at Torquay’s Fougou Music venue.