Sarah McQuaid is a singer, songwriter, composer and multi-instrumentalist. She has recorded six solo albums: When Two Lovers Meet (self-released, 1997), I Won't Go Home ’Til Morning (self-released, 2008), The Plum Tree And The Rose (Waterbug Records, 2012), Walking into White (Waterbug Records, 2015), If We Dig Any Deeper It Could Get Dangerous (Shovel and a Spade Records, 2018) and The St Buryan Sessions (Shovel and a Spade Records, 2021). Three songs on McQuaid's ''Walking into White'' album were inspired by the Swallows and Amazons books by English author

Arthur Ransome Arthur Michell Ransome (18 January 1884 – 3 June 1967) was an English author and journalist. He is best known for writing and illustrating the ''Swallows and Amazons'' series of children's books about the school-holiday adventures of childre ...

. After recording her first three albums in Ireland with producer Gerry O'Beirne (

Sharon Shannon Sharon Shannon (born 8 June 1968) is an Irish musician, best known for her work with the button accordion and for her fiddle technique. She also plays the tin whistle and melodeon. Her 1991 debut album, ''Sharon Shannon,'' was the best-selling ...

), McQuaid enlisted her cousin,

Adam Pierce Mice Parade is an American shoegaze band from New York City, led by percussionist Adam Pierce. ''Mice Parade'' is an anagram of Pierce's name. Biography Adam Pierce started Mice Parade as a solo project while he also played in groups including ...

(

Mice Parade Mice Parade is an American shoegaze band from New York City, led by percussionist Adam Pierce. ''Mice Parade'' is an anagram of Pierce's name. Biography Adam Pierce started Mice Parade as a solo project while he also played in groups including ...

) to serve as producer for ''Walking into White''. Her fifth album, ''If We Dig Any Deeper It Could Get Dangerous,'' was produced by veteran English guitarist and singer-songwriter, Michael Chapman. Under the band name Mama, she and

Zoë Pollock Zoe (also ZOE, Zoë, Zoé, etc.) can refer to: *ζωή (''zōḗ''), the Ancient Greek word for "life" People * Zoe (name), including list of persons and fictional characters with the name Film and television * ''Zoe'' (film) * ZOE Broadca ...

(writer and performer of hit single "

Sunshine on a Rainy Day "Sunshine on a Rainy Day" is a song by British pop singer and songwriter Zoë, released as the first single from her debut album, ''Scarlet Red and Blue'' (1991). The song received positive reviews from music critics, reaching number four on ...

") recorded ''Crow Coyote Buffalo'' (2009), an album of songs co-written by the pair. McQuaid has also guested on albums by

Clodagh Simonds Clodagh Simonds ( ; born 16 May 1953) is an Irish musician, songwriter and singer. She was born in Banbridge, County Down, Northern Ireland and raised and educated in Killiney, County Dublin. Biography At the age of eleven, she formed her fi ...

, Wendy Arrowsmith,

Colin Harper Colin Harper (born 1968, in Belfast) is an Irish non-fiction author and composer. Background Harper was born in Belfast and graduated in Modern History 1989 from Queen's University, Belfast, later acquiring a postgraduate diploma in Information ...

and the Cafe Orchestra amongst others. McQuaid's work has been likened to classic 1970s British folk singers such as

Sandy Denny Alexandra Elene MacLean Denny (6 January 1947 – 21 April 1978) was an English singer who was lead singer of the British folk rock band Fairport Convention. She has been described as "the pre-eminent British folk rock singer". After briefly w ...

and

Nick Drake Nicholas Rodney Drake (19 June 1948 – 25 November 1974) was an English singer-songwriter known for his acoustic guitar-based songs. He did not find a wide audience during his lifetime, but his work gradually achieved wider notice and recognit ...

, and her diverse work has also explored three-part round singing (with

Niamh Parsons Niamh Parsons (born in Dublin, Ireland) is a singer of contemporary and traditional Irish music Irish traditional music (also known as Irish trad, Irish folk music, and other variants) is a genre of folk music that developed in Ireland. I ...

and Tom Barry). All of McQuaid's albums are distributed in the U.K. by

Proper Music Distribution Stemming from a business started in 1988, Proper Music Distribution has grown to become the largest totally independent distributor in the UK, with annual sales of over £25million. It is a wholly owned subsidiary company of Proper Music Group L ...

. She is one of several artists who have covered

Ewan MacColl James Henry Miller (25 January 1915 – 22 October 1989), better known by his stage name Ewan MacColl, was a folk singer-songwriter, folk song collector, labour activist and actor. Born in England to Scottish parents, he is known as one of the ...

's "

The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" is a 1957 folk song written by British political singer-songwriter Ewan MacColl for Peggy Seeger, who later became his wife. At the time, the couple were lovers, although MacColl was still married to his ...

," which appears on McQuaid's ''Walking into White'' album (2015). In January 2021, McQuaid began releasing a series of singles and videos entitled The St Buryan Sessions, recorded and filmed live in July 2020 in the church of St Buryan, Cornwall. The full collection was released on 15 October 2021 as an album and as a concert film.

Biography

Born in Spain to American art critic Jane Addams Allen (founder and editor of the

New Art Examiner The ''New Art Examiner'' was an international magazine of critical art thinking founded in Chicago, Illinois, in October 1973 by Derek Guthrie and Jane Addams Allen. Publication ceased in 2002. As of 2023 there are two publications using the na ...

) and Spanish artist José Paredes Jardiel, McQuaid grew up in the USA, lived for 13 years in Ireland and now resides in

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

, England. McQuaid's great-great-great aunt, prominent pacifist and activist for women's suffrage

Jane Addams Laura Jane Addams (September 6, 1860 May 21, 1935) was an American settlement activist, reformer, social worker, sociologist, public administrator, and author. She was an important leader in the history of social work and women's suffrage ...

, won the

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Chemi ...

for her work in the

settlement house movement The settlement movement was a reformist social movement that began in the 1880s and peaked around the 1920s in United Kingdom and the United States. Its goal was to bring the rich and the poor of society together in both physical proximity and s ...

. McQuaid is married to artist Feargal Shiels and they have two children.

Discography

Albums

* ''When Two Lovers Meet'' (released 1 February 1997) * ''I Won't Go Home 'Til Morning'' (released 28 October 2008) * ''Crow Coyote Buffalo'' (released 24 November 2008) ''(As Mama with Zoë Pollock)'' * ''The Plum Tree And The Rose'' (released 5 March 2012) * ''Walking Into White'' (released 2 February 2015) * ''If We Dig Any Deeper It Could Get Dangerous'' (released 2 February 2018) * ''The St Buryan Sessions'' (released 15 October 2021)

Singles

* ''The Silver Lining - 3 Track Single'' (released 3 November 2014) * ''The Sun Goes On Rising - 3 Track Single'' (released 5 February 2012) * ''The Silence Above Us (The St Buryan Sessions)'' (released 29 January 2021)

Bibliography

McQuaid is the author of ''The Irish

DADGAD , or Celtic tuning is an alternative guitar tuning most associated with Celtic music, though it has also found use in rock, folk, metal and several other genres. Instead of the standard tuning () the six guitar strings are tuned, from low to high, ...

Guitar Book'' (Ossian Publications/Music Sales Ltd, 1995).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McQuaid, Sarah Living people Women singer-songwriters Irish folk singers 1966 births Waterbug Records artists