Sarah McQuaid on tour

SINGER-songwriter Sarah McQuaid is touring again, featuring songs from the new album which she will be recording at the studio at her home in the far west of Cornwall.

She will be at Crediton Arts Centre on 5th June, Holy Trinity Church at Westward Ho! on 12th, Parracombe Village Hall on 19th and at Torquay’s Fougou Music venue on 2nd July.

“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.”